Qass 
Book 




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Hon. Howell Cobb. 





tnA^c-^ll^ 




Memorial Volume 



Hon. Howell Cobb 



OF GEORGIA, 



EDITED BY 

SAMUEL B O Y K J N 



" He was a man, take him for all in all, 
I shall not look upon his like again. ' 



PHILADELPHIA 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT &i CO. 

I 870. 



£-4/5 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by 

SAMUEL BOYKIN, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the District of Georgia. 



LiPPI NOOTT'S PRE89 
PHILADEtPniA. 



CONTENTS. 



FACE 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 9 



I. 



■fATH. 



53 



II. 
LAMENTATION 83 

III. 

THE GRAVE 117 

IV. 
HONORS 175 

V. 

FRIENDSHIP'S OFFERINGS 251 

1* 5 



PREFACE. 



This book is not designed to be a Biography of the 
late Gen. Cobb. To some future pen, able to do jus- 
tice to so noble a subject, that task is left. All that is 
now attempted is a memorial tribute to that distin- 
guished gentleman. 

No man has, for many years, died in Georgia leav- 
ing behind him more numerous or more appreciating 
and attached friends than Gov. Cobb. His name was 
a household word in many of the homes of our State. 
He was loved by the lowly and honored by the great. 
In private, in the domestic circle, at the Bar and in the 
loftiest walks of political life he was regarded as an 
amiable, able, patriotic and benevolent man. His 
sudden death in the prime of life, and when his fame 
had already pervaded the American Union, called forth 
numerous and eulogistic testimonials to his admirable 
character. They exalt him almost to the acme of 
human excellence. And, as if to crown his career 
and character with the most resplendent glory, it was 

vouchsafed to him to die a Christian. 

7 



Tributes to his memory were promptly rendered by 
the Bar and the People. These and the discourses de- 
livered at the funeral, which were reported expressly 
for this work, the editor has collected and presents in 
this volume. They will be found exceedingly inter- 
esting, and worthy of permanent record. In addition, 
the editor has been kindly permitted to publish a few 
brief sketches of Gov. Cobb's life and character — the 
free and voluntary contributions of distinguished friends 
and contemporaries. He has ventured to contribute 
little from his own pen besides such statements as 
seemed to him to be appropriate as connecting links 
in the series. 

The volume is graced with two steel engravings — 
one representing Gov. Cobb when Secretary of the 
United States Treasury, and the other representing his 
appearance at the time of his death. Both are capital 
likenesses, and add greatly to the value of the book. 

The editor is satisfied that the whole will be read 
with interest, and that this unpretending effort to honor 
a great and good man will be acceptable to the public. 

S. B. 

Macon, Georgia, May i, 1S69. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



GENERAL HOWELL COBB, 

OF GEORGIA. 




T would be a narrow as well as erroneous 
view of what pertains to the welfare of 
society to confine inquiry to the mere ex- 
ternal and professional life of those whose fortune 
it has been to bear a prominent part in the control 
of the great interests of nations. While their his- 
tory derives a great part of its interest from the 
public events with which they have been connected, 
their character, their morals, their intellectual fac- 
ulties and their use of the gifts with which the 
Creator has endowed them present a still more 
interesting field of historical investigation, since it 
is true of all nations, especially of republics, that 

in proportion as the individuals who conduct the 

11 



12 

affairs of government are wise, virtuous and capa- 
ble, or unwise, vicious and incompetent, the republic 
advances and prospers or retrogrades and decays 
in all that constitutes its greatness and its glory. 

Of the statesmen of the United States, few have 
occupied a more prominent position or a greater 
and more continuous hold upon the public confi- 
dence than Howell Cobb. He bore a leading part 
in some of the greatest scenes of the republic's 
history. He has filled important positions of trust 
and honor in the councils of the United States and 
of the State of Georofia. From an ao-e when most 
men are deemed too young and inexperienced to 
participate prominently in public affairs he was 
clothed with the highest and most responsible du- 
ties by his countrymen; and when he rendered back 
his life to the God who gave it, the voice of lamen- 
tation and mourning which went up from ever)- 
part of Georgia proclaimed the esteem in which 
his lifelong service was held by those who had 
confided in him, who knew him best and who were 
best fitted to judge his character. 

It would not be consistent with the purpose of 
this work to do more than draw an outline sketch 
of the political life of General Cobb. In a volume 



13 

which is principally composed of the tributes which 
were paid to his memory immediately after his 
decease by public bodies with which he had been 
prominently connected for many years, and by 
friends with whom he was intimately associated in 
public and in private life, it would be inappropriate 
to dwell at any length upon the political questions 
in the discussion of which he bore a leading part, 
or by giving occasion to criticism or difference of 
political opinion to mix the thorns of partisan and 
sectional discord among the flowers of love, rev- 
erence and admiration which the hand of friendship 
designs to weave into a wreath to be deposited 
affectionately upon his tomb. 

Howell Cobb was born in Jefferson county, 
Georgia, on the 7th of September, 181 6. His 
father. Colonel John A. Cobb, was a native of 
North Carolina, in which state his ancestors settled 
long prior to the Revolution, and whence Colonel 
Cobb, while quite young, moved to Georgia and 
became a planter and owner of large landed pos- 
sessions. 

General Cobb's mother, Sarah R. Cobb, was the 
daughter of Thomas Reede Rootes, Esq., of Fred- 



H 

ericksburg, Va. — one of the most famous jurists of 
his day in the Old Dominion. 

Besides the subject of this sketch, Colonel ^nd 
Mrs. Cobb had two sons and four daughters — 
namely, General Thomas Reede Rootes Cobb, the 
eminent lawyer, statesman and soldier, who fell at 
the battle of Fredericksburg, December 12, 1862; 
Major John B. Cobb, who is still living ; Laura, wife 
of Williams Rutherford, Professor of Mathematics 
in the University of Georgia; Mildred, wife of 
Col. Luther J. Glenn ; Mary, wife of Doctor J. M. 
Johnson ; and Martha, wife of Major J. C. Whitner. 

The Cobbs are of Welsh extraction. Their de- 
scent has been traced back to a distinguished family 
of the name in the days of Llewellyn, and among 
the Cobbs now livincr in Wales the Christian name 
Howell is frequently found to exist. 

Colonel Cobb, though a man of very great ability 
and universally beloved and respected, never took 
any part in public affairs. The care of a large 
family and the management of an extensive and 
complicated property absorbed all his attention. 

While Howell Cobb was still quite a child his 
parents moved from Jefferson county to Athens, 
Clarke county, where the schools and the University 



■ IS 

afforded better means of educating their children 
than could be found in the country. 

After the usual course of preparatory education 
at the grammar school of Mr. Fulton, Howell Cobb 
entered the University, where he graduated with 
honor in 1834. His childhood and boyhood, though 
unmarked by any event calling for particular notice, 
displayed those qualities of the head and of the 
heart for which in manhood he was distinguished 
among men. 

The wonderful rapidity with which his intellect 
grasped any subject which engaged his attention, 
his unselfish nature, his generosity of disposition, 
his love of truth and his hatred of meanness and 
falsehood, were the prominent characteristics of his 
boyhood as they were of his maturer years. Full 
of life, of exuberant animal spirits, fond of fun and 
manly sport, he often neglected his studies, and not 
unfrequently transgressed the strict rules of schol- 
astic and collegiate discipline ; but the ready candor 
with which he acknowledged his fault, the generous 
anxiety with which he strove to relieve his compan- 
ions from blame and punishment, the utter absence 
of mean motives or unmanly acts, even where his 
breach of regulation or disobedience of orders was 



i6 

most flagrant, and his unswerving fidelity to truth 
at all times and upon all occasions, always atoned 
for his misdeeds, and, where they did not cause an 
entire remission of punishment, invariably mitigated 
its severity. 

His genial manners, ready wit, intellectual quick- 
ness and high principles caused him to be uni- 
versally beloved by his companions and won for 
him the affectionate regard of all his tutors and 
instructors, of whom those who are still living were 
among the most attached of his friends, and are 
now among those who are most deeply afflicted by 
his death. 

Love of his parents and love of truth were 
the most marked characteristics of his youth ; and 
to them may be traced that remarkable self-control, 
that tender regard for the feelings of others, that 
candor, uprightness of purpose, fidelity to duty, 
charity, forbearance toward everything but mean- 
ness and falsehood, which marked his career from 
its commencement to its close. 

In the month of August, 1834, he graduated, 
taking the third honor in his class, and soon after 
commenced the study of the law in the office of 
General Harden, then one of the most successful 



17 

legal practitioners in Northern Georgia. In 1836 
he was admitted to the bar, and gave such evidence 
of character, ability and legal attainment that in the 
following year he was elected by the Legislature 
Solicitor-General of the Western Circuit, by which 
he became the legal representative of the State in 
all cases civil and criminal in which the State is a 
party. He held the office for the full term of three 
years for which he was elected, and discharged its 
onerous and difficult duties with a skill, vigor and 
fidelity which had never been surpassed upon the 
circuit. With surprising rapidity he took rank at 
the bar among the first and most gifted of its mem- 
bers, acquired a lucrative practice, and by his frank 
cordiality of manner, kindliness of heart and faithful 
attention to the interests of his clients, won the 
confidence and esteem of all — bench, lawyers and 
suitors — with whom he came in contact. 

A few months after he left the University, and 
before his admission to the bar, he married Miss 
Mary Ann Lamar, daughter of Colonel Zachariah 
Lamar, of Baldwin county — one of the wealthiest, 
most influential and most estimable citizens in 
Geofgia. 

The Lamars are of French origin, and were 
2* B 



i8 

among the Huguenot families who took refuge in 
America after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 
and who in proportion to their numbers have con- 
tributed more largely to the intellectual progress, 
refinement and material advancement of the coun- 
try than any other class of the population of the 
United States. 

General Cobb's marriage was the most fortunate 
event of his life, and produced the best influences 
on his subsequent career. Devotedly attached to 
his wife and children, never so happy as when at 
home surrounded by his family and friends, he 
made his house the centre of his joys, regarding 
his wife as his best, truest and most capable coun- 
selor, and making her wishes, her comfort and her 
happiness the first object of his life. 

To estimate the real happiness of his married 
life, the perfect confidence and community of tastes 
and feelings which existed without interruption 
between him and his wife until the hour of his 
death — to understand the mutuality of affection 
between them and their children — it is necessary to 
have been admitted to intimacy in his family circle ; 
and those who have enjoyed this privilege, and 
have seen how unselfish love, unlimited confidence 



19 

and sincere esteem reigned supreme in that house- 
hold, are at a loss whether most to admire the 
affectionate husband, fond father and genial com- 
panion, the devoted wife, faithful and intelligent 
helpmate and loving mother, whose precept and 
example always harmonized because they were 
always prompted by fervent piety and purity of 
thought and deed, or the obedient and tenderly 
attached children, whose love of their parents and 
of each other seemed to be the mainspring of their 
action. 

During the three years of his service as Solicitor- 
General, which brought him into close contact with 
the people of that portion of Northern Georgia 
comprised in_ the Western Circuit, he became uni- 
versally popular with all classes. 

After a short time passed in the active practice 
of his profession, he was called on by the people to 
represent them in the Federal Legislature. 

In October, 1842, shortly after the passage of the 
act for the apportionment of representatives by 
districts according to the sixth census, but before 
the Legislature of Georgia had time to adapt the 
State law to the new Congressional enactment, 
Howell Cobb was elected to Congress upon the 



20 

general ticket, and took his seat in December, 1843, 
at the commencement of the Twenty-eighth Con- 
gress. 

Mr. Cobb was a Democrat of the Jackson school. 
He was sincerely attached to the Union of the 
States, while at the same time he was uncompro- 
misingly opposed to the surrender of the practical 
rights of the States as coequal members of the 
federal family of sovereign commonwealths. He 
was always ready to make any sacrifice short of 
honor and principle to preserve and perpetuate 
the Union as it was framed and designed by 
its builders ; but he would never agree to yield 
any of the individual rights of the States guar- 
anteed to them by the Constitution, which clearly 
defines the powers and authority which the States 
severally and collectively agreed to confer upon 
the General Government as their common agent, 
taking especial care specifically to reserve to 
themselves all other powers which were not thus 
conferred in express terms. While this was his 
position, he never dealt in abstractions. He was 
no hair-splitter in construing the Constitution, nor 
did he allow theories to obscure his eminently prac- 
tical view of the political field. 



21 

He was opposed to the nullification projects of 
Mr. Calhoun, and when sectional excitement ran 
highest, risked his popularity and political prospects 
by supporting the compromise measures of 1850, 
in the hope that they would be respected and main- 
tained throughout the Union as a final settlement 
of the slavery question, and thus reseal, as it were, 
the compact of union between all the States. 

It required a devotion to the Union like that 
which animated Mr. Cobb, it required a mind 
which could rise above the region of local and sec- 
tional prejudices and view the interests of the whole 
Union with the eyes of a broad patriotism, and it re- 
quired a boldness and firmness which nothing but a 
consciousness of right and an enlightened sense of 
duty can impart, to assume the responsibility of the 
part which he took in the passage of the compro- 
mise measures in opposition to most of his political 
friends and associates, and in opposition to the then 
prevalent sentiments of the Southern people. 

He believed that a faithful acquiescence in and 
observance of the terms of the compromise meas- 
ures would for ever settle the vexed question be- 
tween the two sections; and he further believed that 
they did not involve the surrender of any practical 



22 

right in which the honor and interest of the South 
were concerned. 

When these measures were adopted, Mr. Cobb was 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, to which 
elevated and responsible position he was elected in 
December, 1849. During the six years of his ser- 
vice in Congress previous to his election as Speaker 
he had won great distinction by his ability, integ- 
rity, boldness and oratorical power, and had be- 
come the recognized leader of the Democratic party 
in the popular branch of the Federal legislature. 
From the beginning of his Congressional career, 
although he made no effort to attract attention, and 
only took such a part in the debates as his duty as 
a Representative seemed to demand, he was re- 
garded by all parties as one of the ablest among 
the many able men who then adorned the lower 
House of Congress ; and his thorough knowledge 
of parliamentar)' law and of the rules of Congress 
gave him a great advantage over those who were 
less conversant with this important branch of foren- 
sic science. He was a strong and earnest partisan 
because he had a deep-rooted faith in the principles 
and policy of the Democratic party, but irt his inter- 
course with the members and in the interchanges of 



23 , 

the amenities and courtesies of isociety he secured the 
good-will and friendship even of\those who politically 
were most bitterly hostile to him. In the -Thirtieth 
Congress, during which the Mexican war was the 
principal subject of discussion, and President Polk 
was violently attacked by the opposition on account' 
of his policy in regard to it, Mr. Cobb took a prom- 
inent part in the debates, and proved himself to be 
one of the most effective defenders of the Adminis- 
tration. No member of the Democratic party in 
the House stood higher in the esteem and confi- 
dence of the President and his Cabinet than he did, 
and during Mr. Polk's term of office, on all import- 
ant questions, he invariably sought the advice of 
the gifted young Representative of the Sixth Dis- 
trict of Georgia, who had then acquired the distinc- 
tion of being the acknowledged leader of his party. 
In 1848, after the close of the Mexican war, the 
Presidential canvass, resulting in the election of 
General Taylor and the defeat of the Democratic 
party, placed Mr. Cobb in opposition. He had 
been the strenuous supporter of General Cass for 
the Presidency, and had taken an acti^^e part in the 
campaign. The tenure of substantial power by the 
Whigs was destined to be of short duration. When 



24 

Congress met in 1849, eight months after the Inau- 
guration of President Taylor, the Whig party was 
already rent asunder by dissensions and differences 
in its own ranks. It had a nominal majority of a 
few votes in the House of Representatives, but as 
a party it was powerless, owing to the irreconcilable 
difference between the Northern and Southern 
Whigs upon the slavery question. These same 
differences existed also among the Democrats, and 
consequently the country was agitated and dis- 
turbed to an alarming degree. It was under these 
circumstances that, after a most exciting contest, 
Howell Cobb of Georgia was elected Speaker. 

The trust was high, the tribute to his ability and 
integrity which it conveyed was most flattering, but 
the position was as trying and responsible as can 
well be conceived, when it is remembered that his 
own party was not united, that the executive de- 
partment of the government was held by the oppo- 
sition, and that the agitation of the slavery question 
had almost reached the point of open warfare. • 

With a reliance on the integrity of his purpose, 
and on his determination to discharge his duty fully 
and impartially, he assumed the office ; and it was 
universally admitted by all parties that the Speak- 



2S 

er's chair was never filled by any one who had per- 
formed Its duties more ably, impartially and pa- 
tiently, or more acceptably to the House and to the 
country. Had he possessed less of the boldness, 
conservatism, good temper and honesty which cha- 
racterized his whole life, he could not have exercised 
the persuasive power which he did in the peaceful 
settlement of the troubles which then existed, and 
in the reconciliation of those whose hostility was 
such that they were prepared to resort to the ultima 
ratio of republics as well as of kings. It is undoubt- 
edly true that the passage of the compromise meas- 
ures was largely due to the energy and influence 
of Mr. Cobb, although his position as Speaker pre- 
vented his taking as prominent a part in the de- 
bates as many others who appear to have contrib- 
uted more directly to their adoption. 

The Southern Rights party were bitterly opposed 
to the compromise, insisted that It was Inconsistent 
with the honor and interests of the Southern States, 
and assailed all those Southern Representatives, 
especially Howell Cobb, who had been instrumental 
in Its passage. 

The consequence was, that Mr. Cobb, when he 
returned to Georgia after the adjournment of Con- 



26 

gress, found himself compelled to vindicate his con- 
duct and to defend himself against the assaults that 
were made upon him by former friends and asso- 
ciates. Conscious of the entire rectitude of his 
course, sustained by a sense of patriotic duty per- 
formed, and determined, at whatever cost of popu- 
larity or future political position, to maintain the 
settlement which he believed to be wise and for 
the welfare of the Union, he met the attack with 
unfaltering boldness. 

Upon the issue on this question between the 
Southern Rights party and the Union party of 
Georgia, Mr. Cobb was nominated by the latter 
as their candidate for the ofhce of governor of his 
State against the Hon. Charles J. McDonald, the 
candidate of the Southern Rights party. The can- 
vass was one of unusual bitterness and excitement. 
Mr. Cobb made speeches in every county in Geor- 
gia, and wherever he spoke he vindicated his con- 
duct with such powerful effect and convincing elo- 
quence that when the day of election closed he 
was chosen governor of Georgia by the largest 
majority ever given in the State. 

Governor Cobb's administration of the State 
ofovernmcnt crave sfreat satisfaction to all classes of 



27 

the people. His messages to the Legislature were 
remarkably able, and by his wise selection of the 
proper agents the Western and Atlantic Rail- 
road, from Atlanta to Chattanooga, which is the 
property of the State and a rich source of revenue, 
was raised to a high degree of efficiency and of 
profit. When he vacated the governor's chair in 
1852, at the end of the term for which he was 
elected, he returned to his home in Athens, Ga., and 
resumed the practice of his profession. Beyond 
taking an active part in the Presidential campaign 
of 1852 in support of General Franklin Pierce, he 
remained in private life until 1855, when he was 
again called by the electors of his old district, 
whose affection and confidence had never deserted 
him, to serve them again In Congress. 

In the mean time, the differences and animosities 
which were caused by the compromise of 1850 and 
the eubernatorial contest had in a ofreat measure 
passed away. The Democratic party had again 
become united at the Baltimore Convention. The 
platform of principles promulgated by that body had 
endorsed the compromise measures, and thus Mr. 
Cobb found his conduct approved by the sound 
and mature judgment of those who two years be- 



28 

fore had denounced him for having surrendered 
the rights of the South. 

The Thirty-fourth Congress, in which the Demo- 
cratic party was greatly in the minority, was the 
last in which he served in the Federal legislature. 
His talents, his great parliamentary skill and his 
eminent social virtues gave him great weight in 
the House of Representatives ; and though the 
spirit of hostility between the Republicans of the 
North and the Representatives from the South 
had become very angry and demonstrative during 
the last years of Mr. Pierce's administration, those 
who occupied seats in Congress at that time will 
remember how few there were who did not feel 
kindly and admiringly toward Howell Cobb. In 
the Presidential contest of 1856, Mr. Cobb took the 
stump in several of the Northern States in support 
of his personal and political friend, Mr. Buchanan ; 
and when, after his election, which he owed in so 
great a measure to the efforts of Mr. Cobb, Mr 
Buchanan tendered him the position of Secretary 
of State, Mr. C. declined that position in favor of 
General Cass, and accepted the post of Secretary 
of the Treasury. 

While Mr. Cobb continued in Mr. Buchanan's 



29 

Cabinet, from March, 1857, to December, i860. It 
is within the personal knowledge of the writer of 
this sketch that he enjoyed the unbounded confi- 
dence and intimate personal friendship of the Presi- 
dent, and occupied closer relations toward him than 
any other member of his Cabinet. Although Gen- 
eral Cass was nominally the head of the Cabinet, 
and though he was respected and venerated by the 
President and by his colleagues as well for his great 
ability as for his long life of distinguished public 
service, his great age and feeble health often inca- 
pacitated him for the active discharge of his duties, 
and Mr. Cobb was really the prime minister of the 
Administration. 

It is not within the purpose of this sketch to re- 
view the events of the Presidency of Mr. Buchanan, 
or to evoke discussion by making prominent and 
particular reference to the part which Mr. Cobb —(>■ 
bore in the history of that time. The sectional con- 
test which culminated in revolution and the great- 
est war of modern times toward the close of Mr. 
Buchanan's term of office is too fresh in the recol- 
lection of both parties to the contest — the wounds 
which it has caused are not yet sufficiently healed — 

to justify the hope that public opinion will deal im- 
3* 



30 

partially and calmly with the acts of those promi- 
nent men whose sense of patriotic duty impelled 
them to become leaders of the revolution. Mr. 
Cobb undoubtedly was one of the most prominent 
leaders of the revolution. His voice and influence 
certainly caused Georgia to follow the example of 
South Carolina, and sever her connection with the 
Federal Union. Had he advised otherwise or 
had he been silent, it is universally believed that 
Georgia would not have seceded when she did ; and 
had she declined to secede, or even had she hesi- 
tated, it is also universally believed that the other 
States would not have seceded. 

The contrast has been drawn by unfriendly, hos- 
tile critics with a view to damage the reputation of 
Mr. Cobb between his conduct in support of the 
compromise measures in 1850 and in defence of 
the Union and the course which he pursued in 
i86o-'6i in support of secession and in advocacy 
of a dissolution of the Union. Unworthy motives 
of selfishness and disappointed ambition have been 
imputed to him as the cause of his alleged change 
of sentiment; and even in the announcement of 
his sudden death, before the grave had closed 
over him, partisan violence and animosity were so 



31 

strong and bitter that these charges were repeated 
when most men observe the accepted rule, De 
mortuis nil nisi bonum. 

However men may differ from him In the course 
which he pursued, or however they may deny that 
the circumstances warranted the secession of the 
Southern States, those who knew Mr. Cobb, were 
familiar with the character and the principles which 
regulated his life, know that his motives were 
purely patriotic, and that when he counseled the 
Southern States to separate from the rest of the 
Federal family after the election of Abraham 
Lincoln had proclaimed the triumph of the plat- 
form of the Republican party, he did so because 
he believed that It was. necessary for the preserva- 
tion of the rights and liberties of his State and 
section, because he believed that argument, protest 
and remonstrance had been used in vain, and be- 
cause he believed, as he expressed It In his address 
to the people of Georgia, written immediately after 
he resigned the office of Secretary of the Treasury 
(December 6, i860), that "the Union formed by 
our fathers, which was one of equality, justice and 
fraternity, would be supplanted on the 4th of March, 
i860, by a Union of sectionalism and hatred — the 



32 

one worthy of the support and devotion of free- 
men, the other only possible at the cost of Southern 
honor, safety and independence." His address, in 
which his views and convictions are fully set forth 
as the basis of his counsel to the people of Georgia, 
will be fresh in the recollection of those who 
remember the history of that eventful period, and 
it is unnecessary to reproduce it here. Mr. Cobb 
recommended secession because he thought it was 
the only means of defence left to the people of 
the slaveholding States, and he justified it on the 
grounds upon which the right of revolution is jus- 
tified, with a full knowledge of the dangers and 
difiiculties by which its exercise is surrounded. 
Nor is there any inconsistency, as heated partisans 
pretend, between his course in 1850 and that which 
he adopted in i860. The circumstances by which 
he was surrounded when he supported the com- 
promise measures were widely different from those 
which existed when he told the people of Georgia 
that there was " no other remedy for the existing 
state of things but immediate secession." He 
advocated the compromise measures because he 
believed that they would be faithfully observed by 
both sections as a final settlement of the vexed 



33 

question of slavery, without any loss of honor or 
practical right on the part of the South; and he 
advocated secession because that basis of settle- 
ment had been ignored and set aside, because he 
saw, as Mr. Seward expressed it during the canvass 
of i860, that "the time had come at last when^-the 
South was not only powerless, but without influence 
in the government," that the executive, legislative 
and judicial departments of the government were 
about to pass into the hands of men whose avowed 
policy was hostile to the rights, prejudicial to the 
interests and insulting to the honor of the Southern 
States. His attachment to the '* Union formed by 
our fathers " was unchanged, and he only consented 
to its dissolution because he was convinced that its 
continuance would be the ruin of his own section. 
As his friend, Hon. Philip Clayton, remarked in 
this connection, in a letter to the editor of this 
volume written shortly after General Cobb's death, 
" the man who has enjoyed the security and lux- 
ury of his quiet home, around whose associations 
every tendril of his heart has been entwined, is not 
and cannot be accused of inconsistency when the 
devouring element forces him to leave all he holds 
dear and seek safety under some other shelter. 



34 

So with General Cobb. He gave up the govern- 
ment of his affections because it was in flames, and 
sought another where he beheved he could ulti- 
mately find repose and safety." 

Indeed, General Cobb was naturally and emi- 
nently conservative in character, taste and habit. 
He was a man of peace, and his heart ever beat for 
peace and repose. In 1850 he was for compro- 
mise, because he was for peace ; in i860 he was for 
secession, for the same reason — because he was for 
peace. He believed that the compromise measures 
of 1850 would restore harmony to the entire coun- 
try ; therefore he advocated them. When he found 
that they totally failed to allay the storm of sec- 
tional passion, and to bring the North and South 
into repose upon the Constitution of the fathers, he 
saw that in the Union there could be no peace — 
that the institution of domestic slavery, with which 
he had been raised and which he approved, would 
be a growing cause of irritation and excitement 
year by year unless abandoned by the South. He 
believed that institution to have been guaranteed 
and protected by the Constitution of the fathers ; 
he was not prepared to sacrifice it for the Union ; 
and he saw in secession and a division of the coun- 



35 

try the only other solution of the difficulties by 
which the country was imperiled and its peace 
threatened. 

Therefore he advocated secession as a measure 
of peace, of true conservatism ; and had the coun- 
sels of peace rendered by such men as General 
Scott and Horace Greeley prevailed, there would 
have been no difficulty in reconciling his conduct in 
1850 and i860. Loving the Union, he tried to pre- 
serve it with slavery as a domestic institution se- 
cured to his section, so long as he saw the slightest 
hope of preserving both in peace. Loving that 
section and that institution more than the Union, 
he saw in secession the only hope of their peaceful 
preservation. 

The war came, and before its rude breath the 
best calculations of statesmanship and philosophy 
were swept away ; yet reason with unclouded vision 
sees the clear sky beyond the storm-cloud, and 
reconciles the mind and heart of the Howell Cobb 
of 1850 with the mind and heart of the same man 
in i860. Both toiled and beat for peace and con- 
servatism in the one case as in the other, and the 
unyielding Union man of 1850 is one and the same 
with the uncompromising secessionist of i860. 



36 

Conservative he was when he left Georgia for Con- 
gress in 1842 — conservative throughout his Con- 
gressional career — conservative in the guberna- 
torial struggle of 1850, and not less so, parodoxical 
as it may have seemed to the carnal thinker, not 
less conservative In his effort to separate his section 
from a Union which promised no more of peace to 
him and to his. 

The writer of this sketch has not dwelt upon this 
portion of Mr. Cobb's career with any view to 
apologize for his conduct or to attempt to reconcile 
its apparent Inconsistency with a previous portion 
of his public life, but to vindicate the truthfulness 
of his character and the patriotic integrity of his 
motives, so well known to all who were associated 
with him In i86o-'6i, and to none better than to 
him who writes these pages. 

After he had resiofned his seat in Mr. Buchanan's 
Cabinet, Mr. Cobb issued the address to the people 
of Georgia — to which reference has been already 
made — and Immediately returned to his State to 
place his services at the disposal of his people. 

In the canvass for the election of delegates to the 
Convention of Georgia, which adopted the ordin- 
ance of secession, Mr. Cobb bore a prominent and 



37 

influential part. He made public speeches in vari- 
ous parts of the State, and earnestly recommended (~ 
seces^on as the only means of safety. Although he 
was not a member of that Convention, with that 
commanding eloquence which was part of his intel- 
lectual character, he contributed in no small degree 
to the adoption of the ordinance by which it was de- 
clared that " the Union subsisting between the 
State of Georgia and other States under the name 
of the United States of America was dissolved, and 
that the State of Georgia was in the full possession 
and exercise of all those rights of sovereignty which 
belong and appertain to a free and independent 
State." 

This step once taken, it was immediately followed 
by the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Lou- 
isiana and Texas ; and delegates were elected by 
the seceded States to a convention to meet In 
Montgomery, Ala., on the 4th of February, 1861, 
for the purpose of forming a government and 
framing a constitution for a Southern confederacy. 
When this convention met, Mr. Cobb was unani- 
mously chosen to be its president. With the 
acts and deliberations of that body, subsequently 
strengthened and increased by the accession of 



^ 



38 

representatives from the States of Tennessee, Ar- 
kansas, North Carolina and Virginia, and still later 
by representatives from Kentucky and Missouri, 
all are familiar. This is not the place, nor is it the 
desien of this volume, to detail the events which 
led to the formation of the Confederate States of 
America as an independent republic ; nor those 
subsequent events which constitute the terrible 
drama of 1 861-5, of which the Southern States 
were the theatre, except in so far as the subject of 
this memoir is immediately connected with them. 

When it became evident that the government 
and people of the United States were resolved to 
prevent the secession of the Southern States and 
the formation of a Southern republic by force of 
arms, and that war was inevitable, Mr. Cobb felt 
it to be his duty to share the dangers of the battle- 
field with those who were exposed to them by fol- 
lowing his advice. 

In the summer of 1861 he raised a regiment of 
volunteers, known as the Sixteenth Georgia Regi- 
ment, and as one of the most gallant and distin- 
guished organizations in the Confederate army, and 
assumed command as colonel. Durlnof the fall and 
winter of 1861 he served with his regiment on that 



39 

portion of Tidewater Virginia known as the Penin- 
sula, under the immediate command of General J. 
B. Magruder; and in the spring of 1862, having 
been promoted to the command of a brigade, bore a 
distinguished part in that series of engagements 
which took place between the United States forces 
under General McClellah and General Magruder's 
small force, by which the Federal troops were suc- 
cessfully held in check until General J. E. Johnston 
assumed command and decided to evacute the 
Peninsula and concentrate the Confederate forces 
in front of Richmond. 

In the engagement at Dam No. i, on the War- 
wick River, where the United States forces made re- 
peated attempts to cross the stream and break 
through the Confederate lines, General Cobb was in 
immediate command of the Confederate troops at ^ 
that point, and won deserved distinction for the vic- 
tory which was gained by his command. In General 
Magruder's report of that battle the gallantry of 
General Cobb's command and the skillful disposi- 
tions of the commander are mentioned in terms of 
marked commendation. 

On the formation of the permanent government 
of the Confederate States, February 22, 1862, 



^ 



40 

General Cobb's duties as president of the Provin- 
cial Congress terminated. Thenceforward he gave 
all his time and energies to the military service ; 
and from the retreat to Richmond from the Penin- 
sula to the close of the first campaign in Maryland 
after the battle of Sharpsburg, including the me- 
morable battles of the Seven Pines, the Seven 
' Days' Fights from Mechanicsville to Malvern Hill, 
the Second Battle of Manassas, the capture of 
Harper's Ferry, Crampton Gap and Sharpsburg, 
he and his brigade were always present and always 
conspicuous for their gallantry and good discipline. 
At the battle of Crampton Gap, where, owing to 
a careless reconnoisance of the enemy's position 
and strength by the Confederate cavalry, and by a 
recklessly conjectural report of the force in his 
front. General Cobb's brigade, finding itself op- 
posed to General Franklin's entire corps, was com- 
pelled to retreat, and suffered heavy losses in killed 
and wounded, among the former of whom were his 
brother-in-law, Colonel John B. Lamar, the only 
brother of Mrs. Cobb, who was serving on his per- 
sonal staff, and his cousin, Lieutenant-Colonel Jeffer- 
son Lamar, commanding the infantry battalion of 
the Cobb Legion, nothing but General Cobb's 



41 

coolness, presence of mind and rapidity of action, 
could have saved the brigade from annihilation. 
Had such a calamity occurred, the whole respon- 
sibility would have rested with the general of cav- 
alry, who said to General Cobb, as he went forward, 
" You have nothing but a brigade in your front, sir." 
After the termination of the campaign of 1862, 
pressing family business compelled him to obtain 
leave of absence to return to Georgia, at the expi- 
ration of which the Confederate Government, deem- 
ing his popular influence of great importance in 
the settlement of differences which had begun to 
appear between the State and the Confederate j 
authorities in the rapid recruitment of the army 
and the efficient contribution of supplies, assigned 
him to the command of the Military District of 
Florida, and subsequently, having promoted him to 
the rank of major-general, to the command of the 
District of Georgia and of the reserve forces of 
that State ; which latter command he held until the 
close of the war, when, after the unequal and san- 
guinary battle of Columbus, having learned of the 
surrender of Generals Lee and Johnston, he sur- 
rendered at Macon, Ga., to Major-General Wilson, 
commanding a division of United States cavalry. 

4» 



43 

Although his habits, tastes, mode of life, early- 
training and inclinations unfitted him for the camp 
and the profession of a soldier, the same sense of 
duty, steadfastness of purpose, intellectual quickness 
and determination to succeed in whatever he at- 
tempted, distinguished him in his military as in his 
civil career. From the moment he determined to 
enter the army he devoted himself to the study of 
tactics, drill and the routine duties of a soldier with 
all the zeal and assiduity of a recruit, and with 
astonishing rapidity became such a perfect master 
of the art that his command soon became distin- 
guished in the army for its thorough drill and dis- 
cipline. He was personally beloved by all his 
officers and men. While he was firm in the en- 
forcement of all military regulations and implicit 
obedience to orders, he was untiring in his efforts 
to provide for their wants and comforts, sharing all 
their privations and perils, and never asking them 
to do what he was not ready to do himself To his 
superiors in military rank he yielded as ready obe- 
dience as any private in the ranks. This example, 
so valuable in a volunteer army, his ready and in- 
telligent performance of duty, his mature judgment 
in council and his genial nature as a companion, 



T 



43 

won him the respect, confidence and attached friend- 
ship of all those under whose command he served. 

After the struggle was over, and the cause which 
he had served so zealously was for ever lost, faith- 
ful to the terms of his parole as to every other 
obligation, he did much by his precept and example 
to promote the quiet disbandment of the Confed- 
erate army, and the return of the soldiers to the 
peaceful pursuits of life. This accomplished, he 
withdrew to his home in Athens, Ga., where he had 
been but for a short time when an order was sent 
by the War Department to General Wilson to 
arrest him and send him to Washington City. 
Much against his will, General Wilson obeyed the 
order, which was a violation of the express letter of 
the parole which he had taken from General Cobb ; 
and whether in consequence of General Wilson's 
remonstrance, or of a better perception by the War 
Department of the force of their obligations to 
paroled officers, when General Cobb reached Nash- 
ville in custody of a United States officer he was 
released by orders from Washington. 

He returned at once to Georgia, and having 
formed a partnership with his near relative and life- .^ 
long friend, Hon. James Jackson, he opened a law- 



44 

office in Macon, and determined to devote himself 
to the practice of his profession. Although for 
many years he had practically, though not formally, 
retired from the Bar, from the moment he resumed 
his place he and his partner did an extensive prac- 
tice in the circuits of South-western and Middle 
Georgia, and many of the most important cases 
in the Supreme Court of the State were confided 
to his management. There was no more assiduous 
student, no more careful and painstaking attorney 
in the preparation of cases, no more faithful and 
conscientious advocate, than General Cobb; and 
whether in a close, logical, strong, concise argument 
of a difficult question of law before the Supreme 
Court, or in an impassioned address to a jury in 
defence of a prisoner. General Cobb, it is admitted, 
had few rivals and no superior among the Bar of 
Georgia. The venerable and lamented Chief- 
Justice, Joseph Henry Lumpkin, told the writer on 
his return home at the end of a term of the Su- 
preme Court, during which General Cobb had 
argued against the constitutionality of a stay law, 
on the ground that such a law impairs the validity 
of contracts, that never in all his experience at the 
Bar and on the Bench had he heard a finer argu- 



45 

ment than that of General Cobb. His profes- 
sional speeches were always plain, terse, strong and 
directly to the point. He rarely used ornament, 
and never indulged in far-fetched illustration. His 
power consisted in the plainness and candor of his 
propositions, in his thorough mastery of the law, 
in his rapid perception of the points of his case, 
and in the earnestness and energy of his manner. 
No man was ever more respectful to others, no one 
was ever more kind and considerate toward his 
juniors. While he always bore himself with dig- 
nity, and never violated decorum, he was seldom 
severe, and never supercilious or overbearing. 

But better and more valuable testimony than can 
be derived from any other source in regard to 
General Cobb's career as a lawyer, is given in 
another part of this volume by the eminent mem- 
bers of the Bar at which he practiced, who assem- 
bled after his death to record their appreciation of 
his worth and their sorrow at his loss. With many 
of those distinguished men he had been associated 
during his entire public career. To many of them 
he had been opposed in politics. To all he had 
been known, whether at the Bar, in the political 
arena or in the intimacy of social life ; and it is not 



46 

extravagant to say that by all he was admired and 
respected for his undoubted genius and command- 
ing talent, by all he was reverenced for his high 
character, spotless integrity and unsullied honor, 
and by all he was beloved for his winning manners, 
genial intercourse and attractive conversation. 

For many years he had taken a deep interest in 
the education of the youth of his State, and as a 
trustee of the University of Georgia took a zealous 
and active part in all the measures of improvement 
r+, and reform by which that institution has been raised 
to its present high position among the most prom- 
inent educational establishments in the United 
States. On this subject, too, the reader is referred 
to the action of the Board of Trustees of the Uni- 
versity on the announcement of his death. 

But great as Howell Cobb undoubtedly was as 
a statesman, orator, lawyer and public man, as a 
private citizen, as the head of a family, as a friend, 
he was still greater and more admirable. Pos- 
sessed of large means, he used them to promote 
the happiness and comfort of all around him. No 
applicant for help or charity ever applied to him in 
"A vain ; and it is only since his death, since the grate- 
ful recipients of his bounty, in expressing their 



47 

grief at the Irreparable loss they have sustained, 
have made known the benefits they have received 
at his hands, that the extent and liberality of his 
charities have become known. He seemed to act 
upon the Christian rule, never to let his right hand 
know what his left hand did. In every public 
charity, in the building and endowment of places 
of Christian worship, in the promotion of schools 
and colleges, in the aid of every good and useful 
work, he was always ready to contribute liberally. 
He was a large slave-owner. When by the re- 
sult of the war the slaves were emancipated, more 
than a thousand negroes called him master. A S. 
more liberal, indulgent or kind master never 
lived. When he died all of his old servants who 
could do so attended his funeral, and there were 
but few more sincere and afflicted mourners at his 
grave than those negroes. Although relieved by 
emancipation from all obligation to provide for any 
of his former slaves, he supported during his life, 
and his family still support, all of his servants who 
from age, disease or other infirmity were unable to 
provide for themselves. All have good houses, 
ample food and fuel, comfortable clothing and 
medical care ; and whenever he visited the places 



48 

where they live, he always took care to see that 
these pensioners were comfortable. 

In a former part of this sketch his character and 
example as the head of a family have been noticed. 
It was in his own house, surrounded by his family, 
that he was most to be admired. His chief aim in 
life was to secure the happiness of those who were 
related to him ; and amid all the stirring events of 
his career he never allowed any consideration of per- 
sonal pleasure or ambition to induce him to post- 
pone even for a moment what he owed to his family. 

In illustration of this admirable trait of his cha- 
racter, it may not be deemed inappropriate to men- 
tion an incident of his early life which will exhibit 
the unselfishness of his nature and the readiness 
with which he could sacrifice his own interest to 
protect that of a relative. While he was quite 
young he endorsed notes to a very large amount 
for his father. Colonel John A. Cobb, who was then 
engaged in land speculations to a great extent. 
Overtaken by the great commercial panic of 1837, 
when lands and every other species of property 
depreciated so rapidly in value, Colonel Cobb failed 
for a large amount ; and after all his property had 
been sold at the then low prices to satisfy his cred- 



49 

itors, there still remained a considerable sum unpaid, 
for which his son Howell was liable as endorser. 
Although legally and equitably he could have 
evaded the payment of these claims, and though 
their payment would not only involve the loss of a 
handsome estate bequeathed to him by his uncle, 
Captain Howell Cobb, but embarrass him very seri- 
ously for many years, and though he had never de- 
rived any personal benefit from any of the trans- 
actions on which he was held liable, he resolutely 
refused to avail himself of any means to escape 
liability, and paid all the claims to the uttermost 
farthing, principal and Interest; and thus during 
several years of his life was in straitened circum- 
stances. 

General Cobb never made any open profes- 
sion of religion by connecting himself formally with 
any church. But no man admired religion or 
a religious life more than he, and no man ever 
prayed more devoutly to receive the light of life. 
For many years he had been beset by doubts as 
to some essential points of the Christian religion. 
He struggled hard to dissipate his doubts, and In 
his discussions with ministers of the gospel with 
whom he was intimate, and with attached friends, 



$0 

he frankly stated his difficulties and sought for aid 
to remove them. He was a constant and devout 
worshiper at the Baptist church, and his private 
devotions were never forgotten. A few months 
before his death, in conversation with a devoted 
personal friend, he mentioned his religious troubles 
and his anxiety to remove them. His friend, who 
had experienced similar difficulties, and had had 
them removed by reading a little book, " The Christ 
of History," by Dr. John Young, recommended him 
to read it, and the result was the entire removal of 
his skepticism, and a perfect belief in all the saving 
doctrines of Christianity. He had resolved, on his 
return to Macon from a contemplated visit to the 
North with a portion of his family, to connect him- 
self with the Church. His death at New York, on 
the 9th of October, 1868, prevented the execution 
of this purpose ; but in a conversation between him 
and the bishop of Georgia, Dr. Beckwith, in the 
course of which he was stricken down and never 
spoke again, he made a full profession of his faith 
in the Christian religion, and died with that pro- 
fession still on his lips. 

During the past few months of his life, from 
having had an iron constitution impervious to dis- 



SI 

ease, he suffered frequently from a painful oppres- 
sion of the chest and the region of the heart, which 
caused much anxiety to his family and friends. But 
his malady was not considered dangerous, and no 
cause of immediate alarm was felt. 

The evening previous to his departure from his 
home in Georgia to the North, he passed in com- 
pany with a few friends, among whom was the 
writer of these pages. He never appeared in 
better health or spirits, and none of those who 
were present when they parted from him dreamed 
that they would never again behold him in life. 
On the morning of his death he was, to all appear- 
ance, in the enjoyment of excellent health. He 
had just returned to New York from a visit to 
Niagara, Saratoga and other points of interest, and 
had made his arrangements to return to Georgia, 
when, as he stood conversing with Bishop Beck- 
with and Col. J. J. Williams of Florida, formerly of 
his staff, and with his wife and daughter standing 
near, he was stricken with apoplexy, and died almost 
immediately. He was exactly fifty- three years one 
month and two days old at the time of his death. 

His remains were transported to Georgia, and 
were interred in the family vault in Athens, in 



t 



52 

presence of an Immense concourse of people from 
Athens and other parts of the State. 

Besides his widow, he has left four sons — namely, 
Captain John A. Cobb, Major Lamar Cobb, Captain 
Howell Cobb and Andrew Jackson Cobb; and 
three daughters — Miss Mary Ann Lamar Cobb, 
Miss Sarah Cobb and Miss Lizzie Craig Cobb. 
To them, and to those who were intimately associ- 
ated with him in private life, his death is an irre- 
parable loss. But there are consolations which 
arise to mitigate their loss, and soothe the sharp 
pangs of sorrow by the healing balm of resigna- 
tion. They are grateful to God that he lived so 
long, that he did so much and so well for his 
family, his friends and his country, and that his 
great name is so honorably connected with that 
country's records. They are grateful that he has 
left upon their minds and hearts an Ineffaceable 
impression of his person, his character and his 
public acts. They are grateful that they have seen 
and known him ; and when they in their turn shall 
be called hence to be no more seen, they will take 
with them an enduring sense of his virtues, his 
honor, his blameless life and his lovable nature. 

William M. Browne. 




-^ 




DEATH. 



All Jlesh shall perish together^ and j)ian shall turn again 
into dust. — Job xxxiv. 15. 

Then shall the earth rettirn tmto the dzist as it was : and 
the sfirit shall returjt unto God who gave it. — Ecclesiastes 
xii. 7. 

Let me die the death of the right eoits., and let my last end 
be like his I — Numbers xxiii. 10. 

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his 
saints. — Psalm cxvi. 15. 

O death., where is thy sting? O grave., zvhere is thy vic- 
tory ? The sting of death is sin; and the stre?tgth of sin 
is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the vic- 
tory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. — i Corinthians xv. 55, 
56, 57- 

6* 



Lo ! the prisoner is released, 

Lightened of his fleshly load ; 
Where the weary are at rest, 

He is gathered unto God ! 
Lo ! the pain of life has past, 

All his warfare now is o'er ; 
Death and hell behind are cast, 

Grief and suffering are no more. 

Death comes to take me where I long to be ; 

One pang, and bright blooms the immortal flower; 
Death comes to lead me from mortality 

To lands which know not one unhappy hour ; 
I have a hope, a faith — from sorrow here 
I'm led by Death away — why should I start and fear? 



j8^^^^^<y^!S^g^ 


S\**^'^ //' -^Tj^^ \ 


W^M 


^ 


^^ 


^ 




^^^Mk 


^H 


H 


liS 


^ 



Hon. Howell Cobb. 



I. 



DBA TH. 




N the 9th of October, 1868, the following 
dispatch winged its way, with lightning 
speed, from the city of New York to 
Georgia : 

New York, October 9, 1868. 
To David C. Barrow, Athens^ Ga. : 
Gen'l Cobb died suddenly this morning. 

(Signed) R. D. Moore, M. D. 

The mournful news thrilled the heart of the 

entire State with a pang of grief. Never before 

had a son of Georgia passed away whose death 

brought more general sorrow, and whose untimely 

end created a more poignant regret. Although the 

State had lost many whose death she deplored with 

55 



56 

heartfelt anguish, as was the case when the spirit 
of the venerated ElHott winded its sudden flio;ht to 
the realms of bliss ; or when the peerless Lumpkin 
sank to rest in the bosom of his God ; or when the 
beloved T, R. R. Cobb rose to glory from the en- 
sanguined field ; yet, never before had she lost one 
who enjoyed her confidence and love in a greater 
degree, and whose eminent abilities and prudence 
as a statesman she so greatly needed. 

It may be truly said of Gov. Cobb that, at the 
time of his death, no man in the State possessed 
so many friends, or stood higher in the estima- 
tion of all as a high-toned, honorable Southern 
gentleman. 

He was a man universally respected and admired 
for his ardent patriotism, for his lofty abilities, for 
his noble qualities of head and heart, for his un- 
bounded hospitality and generosity, and for his cour- 
teous demeanor and incorruptible integrity. His 
was truly a princely nature — above all meanness, 
staunch in its friendships, unwavering in its con- 
stancy, unfaltering in its devotion ; to the last de- 
gree generous and unselfish, self-sacrificing in the 
interests of family, friends and country, and sublime 
in its contempt and loathing of all that was base 



57 

\ 
and hypocritical. No man ever endeared himself 

more to loved ones, or would more wiUingly have 
benefited an enemy. To a towering intellect he 
united a warm and tender nature ; and to a mind 
that had swayed a nation he united the humble 
spirit of a Christian. His heart beat in unison 
with the great pulse of our common humanity, 
and all the impulses of his nature manifested a 
sympathy for friends and country that no circum- 
stances could weaken or destroy. To whatever 
post assigned he had proved himself faithful, and 
in whatever capacity employed he had manifested 
his ability. No taint ever attached to his name : 
no suspicion ever tarnished his character. From 
his first entrance into public life, his State had de- 
lighted to honor him, and never once had she seen 
cause to blush for her confidence or feel abased 
by her affection. 

And when he died she mourned for him as for a 
favorite son. She covered herself with sackcloth 
and wept, for she knew that his like would not be 
seen again. 

With his wife and daughter he had gone to New 
York on a pleasure trip. The full strength of 
mature and vigorous manhood was in his frame. 



t 



58 

and, to all appearances, he bade fair to live long 
in the enjoyment of honors, wealth and fame ; and 
yet in a moment he was smitten down by the hand 
of death, and expired without a groan. 

The particulars of his death may be briefly told. 
He was standing on the parlor floor of the Fifth 
Avenue Hotel, conversing with the Right Rev. 
Bishop Beckwith in relation to a sermon preached 
by the latter. Major Joseph John Williams, of 
Florida, a former member of Gen. Cobb's staff, 
was present also, and writes as follows concern- 
ing the sad event : 

"As we were about parting at the head of the 
stairs on the parlor floor, Mrs. Cobb and Miss 
Mary Cobb made their appearance, descending. 
The General asked the Bishop to remain and be 
introduced. He did so, and Mrs. Cobb and the 
Bishop immediately commenced conversation upon 
the same subject. The General, standing just to 
my left, quickly threw his hand to his head, walked 
around and took his seat upon the stairs, and in a 
very few minutes expired, without saying a word." 

The great man had seen his last of earth. 

The last conversation Gen. Cobb had on earth 
was with the Right Rev. Bishop Beckwith, of 



59 

Georgia, at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York 
City. An account of that conversation and the 
accompanying interview will prove exceedingly 
interesting. It is furnished by Bishop Beckwith 
himself: 

Gov. Cobb's Last Conversation. 

"Rev. and Dear Sir: On the morning of the 
9th day of October, 1868, being in the city of New 
York, I visited the Fifth Avenue Hotel, where I 
accidentally met my old friend and schoolmate. 
Col. Joseph John Williams, of Florida. In the 
course of conversation he informed me that Gen. 
Howell Cobb (upon whose staff he had served 
during the war) was in the hotel, and proposed 
that I should call upon him, saying that the Gen- 
eral had heard me preach a sermon in Macon, 
Georgia, of which he had spoken in terms of 
strong condemnation. Col. Williams declared his 
belief that the General had misunderstood me, 
and desired me to offer him an explanation. Glad 
of an opportunity, I consented, and we went in 
search of him, little dreaming what we were to 
hear and see. We found the General standing 
near the doors of the parlors, in conversation 



4 



6o 

with some ladies. When disengaged, the Colonel 
and myself approached, and, after the usual ex- 
change of courtesies, I remarked to him that I had 
understood he had censured a sermon preached 
by me in Macon upon Christian Unity ; begged 
him to state his objections and give me the oppor- 
tunity of removing them. He very kindly and 
frankly declared that he did object to that sermon, 
upon the ground that he understood It to contain 
two statements : i, That I did not believe a Baptist 
could be saved; and 2, That I had placed Bap- 
tists (who believe In the Lord's divinity) upon an 
equality with Unitarians. I assured him that In 
each case he had entirely misunderstood both my 
statements and my opinions. As to the first, I said, 
there is not a word in the sermon which can be 
made to mean anything of the kind ; and more 
than that, I do not hold such opinion. I added, 
that I believed the Baptist Church — as a system — 
contained very grave errors, but I did not believe 
that the members of that Church would there- 
fore be lost. I acknowledged their piety and 
devotion, and believed that numbers of them — 
as of the other churches — would be saved. He 
answered. 



6i 

" ' Had you only said you expected to see Baptists 
in heaven, all would have been right.' I replied, 

" * I did not say so, because it did not occur to 
me that I cotcld be suspected of holding any other 
opinion.' He said, warmly and frankly, that he 
had misunderstood me ; and during the conversa- 
tion he more than once recurred to the above 
statement, and thanked me for having made it. I 
told him that I had heard of this his charge against 
my sermon before, and had consequently made 
inquiry of others, and invariably received the an- 
swer that they were surprised that he could have 
so understood me. As to Objection 2d, I said, 
* In showing the sad results of irresponsible private 
judgment, I had mentioned the fact that one 
denomination (the Quakers) denied visible sacra- 
ments ; another (the Baptists) refused baptism to 
infants, and allowed the holy communion only to 
such as had been immersed ; another (the Uni- 
versalists) denied eternal punishment; another 
(the Unitarians) denied the Lord's divinity; and 
several denied the three orders of the ministry ; 
but that I did not institute any comparison between 
them. The idea of placing the Unitarian — who 
denies the Lord's divinity — upon an equality with 



62 

the Baptist — who believes in it — did not once occur 
to me.' He saw his mistake at once, frankly con- 
fessed that he was wrong, and hesitated not to say 
he was surprised that he should have so misunder- 
stood me. 

"He then said, 'Your argument against private 
judgment is one that I cannot see how it can be 
answered.' He then told me that he had long 
desired to connect himself with some Church ; he 
felt it to be his duty to do so. 

" * But,' said he, * none of you will have me. You 
will not have me, because I do not believe in the 
apostolic succession ; and the Baptists will not 
have me, because I do not believe any of their 
doctrines.' 

" I said, * We do not require belief in the apostolic 
succession as a term of communion ; we believe 
that we have that succession, but do not refuse 
communion to those who do not believe it.' 

" He said, ' I had a talk with my minister some 
time since, and told him that I wished to join the 
Church ; that the Baptist Church was my Church, 
and the Church of my people, but I did not believe 
in the necessity of immersion, nor in their doctrine 
of election.' I asked what was the reply of the 



63 

minister; my memory is not positive as to his 
answer ; the impression upon my mind is to the 
effect that he said his minister would not consent 
to receive him. (The minister can correct this if it 
be necessary.)* 

* Rev. S. Boykin — Dear Brother : On page 7 of the paper you handed 
to me on the death of Gov. Cobb, prepared by Bishop Beckwith, he quotes 
this language from the Governor : " I had a talk with my minister some time 
since, and told him that I wished to join the Church ; that the Baptist Church 
was my Church, and the Church of my people, but I did not believe in the 
necessity of immersion, nor in their doctrine of election." The Bishop 
adds, " I asked what was the reply of the minister ; my memory is not posi- 
tive as to his answer ; the impression upon my mind is to the effect that his 
minister would not consent to receive him. (The minister can correct this 
if it be necessary)." 

The quotation from Gov. Cobb is doubtless in the main correct ; much 
more was said, and explanations were given, but upon the two points of 
immersion and election I wish to add a word. 

When Gov. Cobb said he did not believe immersion was necessary (the 
word he used was essential) to baptism, I asked why he did not — if he had 
ever seen where anything else was taught in the word of God for baptism ? 
He said, 

" I frankly confess to you, sir, I have not I am only led to this conclusion 
by the great diversity of opinions entertained among learned and good men, 
I believe something else may do, because they say it will." I said to him, 

" We take the Bible for oar guide. We adopt its teachings as the rule of 
our practice ; and while we award much learning and piety to men, we 
search the Scriptures and bring every man's theory to this inspired test, 
and accept or reject it as it may accord with, or differ from, God's revealed 
will. We will receive you upon this principle ; and give you permission to 
withdraw from our communion whenever you shall be convinced that the 
Bible teaches anything for baptism but immersion. But we will not expect 



64 

"Immediately after this he said that for some 
time past he had been very much troubled by a 
matter which he considered of far more Import- 
ance than the question of apostolic succession, etc. 
I asked If I might know what It was, and he 
answered with much feeling, 

"'The divinity of our Lord.' He said that no 
one knew how It had troubled him and how much 
he had suffered. I think I can never forget his 
agitation as he thus unburdened his heart to me. 
I saw that the great trial of his life was before 

you to inveigh against our doctrines or practices while a member of the 
Church !" 

He then said, if his family were here he would join the Church immedi- 
ately, and so soon as they returned from Athens he would do so. 

He said he did not believe the doctrine of election. I asked him why? 

"Because," said he, " I do not understand it." 

" But," said I, " do you understand the mystery of godliness — God manifest 
in the fiesh ? You belicz'c that, and yet you simply accept it on the divine 
veracity.. Can you not believe the doctrine of election simply because it is 
taught in the Bible, even though you do not understand it ? If it be a doc- 
trine of the Bible (and you cannot deny that it is clearly taught), you are 
boitnd to bclici'e it, or make God a liar. But you reverence him as the God 
of all truth and righteousness. Have you not reverence enough for the 
perfections of his character to believe all that he has revealed, whether it 
comes in antagonism with your own previous opinions or not .''" 

He replied with emphasis in the affirmative, and then the conversation 
turned upon his recent gracious experiences of the love of God in his soul. 

E. W. Warren, 
Pastor First Baftist Church, Macon, Go, 



6s 

him : the memory of the pangs it had cost him 
seemed to affect him profoundly. I said, 

'"General, have you overcome that difficulty?' 
He answered at once, 
" ' / /lave: 

" I said, * Do you believe in the divinity of the 
Saviour?' I fancied there was something of joy 
in his prompt, decisive answer, 
"'I do/ 

" It was to me a moment of more than ordinary 
solemnity ; and when I afterward thought of it, I 
felt, ' Surely the Lord had been in that place, and 
I knew it not.' That great intellect had met and 
struggled with infidelity as with a strong man 
armed ; the effects of the strife were evident as 
he spoke ; he seemed to feel that he had been 
rescued by an Omnipotent arm. 

" I said, ' General, do you believe in the Apostles' 
Creed?' He paused, as though recalling its vari- 
ous articles, and then answered, 
" ' Yes, I do.' 

"I then told him that he believed all that any 
Church had a right to demand as necessary to 
membership, and that I was ready to receive him 
into the Church, and o-ive him the sacraments. He 



66 

made no reply, but expressed a desire to introduce 
me to his wife, that he might correct her misap- 
prehension of my sermon. As we moved to the 
stairway, we met Mrs. Cobb and her daughter 
coming; down from their room. The introduction 
was given, the correction as to the sermon was 
made — and then the summons came. I feel, my 
dear sir, that I have no right to portray that scene 
or speak of its awful sufferings. Suffice it to say, 
that fifteen minutes had scarcely elapsed ere the 
strong man, with the confession of his Saviour 
before man still warm upon his lips, stood in that 
Saviour's presence. 

"He was smitten down by apoplexy, and from 
the first moment was speechless. 

"It would be unbecoming in me — a comparative 
stranger to Gen. Cobb — to speak of his public and 
private character : that privilege belongs to those 
who were permitted to know him well. God 
brought me into contact with him during the last — 
but most important — moments of his life. His 
labors in the Cabinet, the Senate and on the 
Field were all ended: life had reached its limit; 
and now, by circumstances seemingly accidental, 
an overruling Providence brought him to a minister 

o o 



67 

of his Church, that he might open the grief of his 
soul and confess his Saviour before men. Some 
secret influence urged him to speak of the great 
trouble which had overshadowed his mind and 
tempted him ** to deny the Lord that bought him." 
No man, my dear sir, can appreciate this trouble 
who has not felt it. It is the soul's struggle for 
life with its strongest, most insidious foe — Rational- 
ism. By the mercy of- God, Gen. Cobb had come 
out of that struggle victorious. Conscious now 
of his own weakness and constant need of divine 
aid, he desired to become a member of Christ's 
visible body, the Church, and to confess his Sa- 
viour before men. This desire he expressed to one 
of God's ministers ; this confession he frankly and 
earnestly made; and even while he made it the 
message was received — 'The master calleth for 
thee.' 

"Most respectfully, 

" Yours in Christ and his Church, 

"Jno. W. Beckwith." 
When the sad event was known in Georgia, 
meetings of condolence were held throughout the 
State, and delegations were appointed to attend 
the funeral. 



68 

In various towns and cities the members of ihe 
Bar met and adopted resolutions significant of 
their sorrow, and expressive of their feelings of 
reverence and regard for the memory of their 
departed associate. 

In Americus, Georgia, the following preamble 
and resolutions were adopted by the legal frater- 
nity, and may serve as an exemplification to Indi- 
cate the character of the meetings held, and the 
feelings and sentiments manifested, In other por- 
tions of the State : 

In Memoriam of Hon. Howell Cobb. 

Sumter Superior Court, i 
October Term, 1868. ) 

HON. J. M. CLARK, PRESIDING. 

The Committee appointed to report suitable 
preamble and resolutions of the Court and Bar, 
expressive of their sympathies arising from the 
sudden death of Hon. Howell Cobb, beg leave to 
submit the following : 

The death of a prominent citizen is always a 
source of deep sorrow and regret. But when so 
distinguished a citizen as Hon. Howell Cobb is 
suddenly taken from the hope of his native State, 



69 

we cannot but regard it as a great public calamity. 
Gov. Cobb, more perhaps than any man In the 
State, has a hold upon the hearts and confidence 
of the people. He had long served them In the 
national councils, In the Cabinet and as Governor; 
and In all the various and Important public trusts 
he discharged his duties with distinguished ability, 
, credit to himself and honor to his State. He was 
an eminent lawyer, and as a forensic speaker he 
had few equals and no superiors. In all the social 
relations of life he was affable, kind and courteous. 
His hospitality was unbounded. He had a large, 
generous and noble heart, filled with benevolent 
charity. An all-wise Providence has, we trust, taken 
him to Himself, and we submit with reverence to 
His holy will. 

Georgia, In the death of our Cobb, has lost a 
favorite son. His seat In the court-room will never 
be filled again. 

Resolved, That in the death of Hon. Howell 
Cobb, this State has lost one of Its most eminent 
and distinguished citizens and statesmen, this Bar 
one of its ablest and most beloved members and 
the social circle one of Its chief delights and orna- 
ments ; and that this Court and the members of 



this Bar feel the most poignant sorrow for the loss 
of the lamented dead. 

Resolved, That we heartily condole with the be- 
reaved family and friends of the deceased, and that 
his sudden death ouo^ht to admonish us all to be 
" ready also ; for the Son of man cometh at an hour 
when we think not." 

Resolved, That a copy of these proceedings be 
entered on the minutes of this Court, published in 
the city newspapers, and sent to the bereaved 
family of the deceased. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 

Jas. J. Scarborough, Chairman. 
Willis A. Hawkins, 
N. A. Smith, 
Charles T. Goode, 
W, B. Guerry. 
On motion. It was ordered that the proceedings 
be spread upon the minutes of this Court, and 
published in the city papers, and a certified copy 
sent to the bereaved family of Gov. Cobb. 

J. M. Clark, J. S. C, S. W. C. 
A true extract from the minutes of Sumter 
Superior Court, October 26, 1868. 

A. J. RoNALDSON, Clerk. 



71 

From the Columbian Bar emanated the following 
tribute of respect. 

Columbus, Georgia, October lo, 1868. 

A public meeting was this day held in the city 
of Columbus, when, on motion, Gen. Henry L. 
Benning was called to the Chair, and Hugh King, 
Esq., appointed Secretary. 

The Chairman announced that the startling and 
painful intelligence had reached us of the death of 
one of our purest, ablest and most patriotic men. 
Howell Cobb, the great Georgia statesman, had 
suddenly died in New York City, on the 9th inst, 
and this meeting had assembled to manifest our 
own feelings, as individuals, and to give expression 
to the loss which the country had sustained in this 
great calamity. 

On motion, a committee of seven was appointed 
to draft resolutions expressive of the feehngs of 
this meeting. Martin J. Crawford, A. R. Lamar, 
James N. Ramsey, Beverly A. Thornton, Alexander 
C. Morton Porter Ingram and F. G. Wilkins com- 
posed the committee. Whereupon the committee 
reported through Mr. Crawford, the following re- 
solutions : 

Resolved, That we have heard with the deepest 



72 

sensibility the announcement of the death of the 
Hon. Howell Cobb. 

Resolvedy That in his death this State and the 
country have indeed suffered an irreparable loss, 
and in sadness and sorrow we bow to this most 
painful and afflicting dispensation of an all-wise 
Providence. 

Resolved, That this meeting tenders its heartfelt 
condolence and sympathy to the bereaved family 
of the deceased, and that, whilst we mingle our 
tears with theirs over the grave of the departed, 
we weep also because the wise and patriotic 
counsels of Howell Cobb are forever lost to his 
people. 

Resolved, That a copy of the- above resolutions 
be sent to the family of the deceased. 

After beautiful and touching speeches, made by 
Messrs. Crawford, Ramsey, Lamar, Thornton, and 
Morton, the resolutions were adopted, and the 
meeting adjourned. 

Henry L. Benning, Chairman. 

Hugh King, Secretary. 

The entire press of the country did honor to 
the illustrious dead in words of eulogistic com- 



73 

ment; but one extract only is made. It is an 
eloquent tribute to the memory of Gov. Cobb, 
taken from "Pensacola Commercial," and was 
written by Hon. Mr. Mallory, of Florida, who was 
associated with Mr. Cobb in official life, and ap- 
preciated his character and ability : 

"The Southern heart will learn with profound 
regret the sudden and unlooked-for death of 
Howell Cobb. 

" We do not write to praise the dead, but to mani^ 
fest the grief of the living ; and to speak this grief, 
so far as we may, for the people of Florida, in 
whose hearts his name and fame are enshrined 
with warm affection. 

"Georgia does not mourn alone. Her grief is 
shared by sister States, who claim the genius, the 
services and the character of her son as the 
common property of the South, to which they 
have aided to give dignity and renown. 

"Connected with him by ties which she can 
never forget ; loved as he was in her every forest 
home; cherishing the principles he espoused and 
maintained with equal ardor and ability in field and 
forum, death could not have sent a shaft fraught 
with deeper sorrow to Florida than that which 



74 

struck this noble Southerner ; and in the hearts of 
her people will his epitaph be written. 

*' Our State has within a few dark years of suffer- 
ing been called upon to mourn many whom she 
cherished in her heart of hearts ; but over a purer 
spirit, a more lofty patriotism, a heart controlled by 
warmer affections, her tears have never fallen. 

"The judgment of posterity reviews the deeds 
of those whom time submits to its scrutiny, uncon- 
trolled by the opinions of their contemporaries ; 
but when it pronounces upon the man, irrespective 
of station, it is to the judgment of his contempora- 
ries that posterity appeals ; and as men who knew 
the priceless worth of the deceased, not only in the 
high position which he held in our own State, but 
in all that exalts and adorns man's nature in the 
private walks of life, will Floridians lay their cypress 
boughs upon his tomb. 

"The manifestation of a people's regard for the 
character and services of those luminaries whom 
death has removed from their counsels, but whose 
radiant brightness, still lighting the paths they tread, 
it cannot destroy, is at once an evidence of their 
gratitude to God and the highest incentive to 
imitate their "worthy examples ; for the noblest 



75 

ambition of an exalted nature springs from the 
desire for a deathless name — of living in the esti- 
mation of the good in the dim and distant future. 
But for this pleasing hope, the spirits of earth's 
purest and best would sink beneath the cold 
neglect, the crushing toil, the base ingratitude for 
benefits conferred, which beset the path to fame. 

"Universal as are the elements of greatness, 
governed as the Americans once were by the same 
laws and institutions, subject to similar social and 
political influences, and borne onward upon the 
same wave of development, there must necessarily 
be much in the history of distinguished Americans 
which is common to all. Bright constellations in 
the same great sphere, fixing the gaze and guiding 
the steps of their race, beaming with a 'firm, 
fixed and resting quality', while lesser orbs re- 
volve and change around them, they but 'differ 
as one star differeth from another star in glory.' 

" But affection's hand, recording the verdict of 
truth, will long with feeling trace that wealth of 
soul peculiarly his own, of Georgia's gifted son ; 
and those who have heard his clarion voice, whose 
hearts have swelled under the outbursts of his 
impassioned soul, who in him have found a Roman 



76 

firmness combined with all of woman's feeling and 
afifection, will long recall that happy union of the 
noblest gifts of head and heart which stamped 
Howell Cobb with greatness. 

" Throughout his long and arduous public career 
Mr. Cobb's hold upon the hearts and brains of the 
Southern people was its peculiar feature. Scorn- 
ing disguise, surveying men and measures from 
the elevation of his own exalted nature, his public 
addresses, no less than his public and private con- 
duct, inspired affection and commanded respect ; 
and few public men have had more or truer friends. 

"Empires and States have flourished and de- 
cayed, and shattered columns or buried tombs 
alone remain to tell their stor)'^ ; but in the provi- 
dence of God, the memories of the noble intel- 
lects, the pure in heart, who have labored for the 
good of their race, and upon whose deeds His 
laws have stamped their approbation, live on for 
ever, not by, but above, the record of sculptured 
urn or monumental bust, in the proudest of all 
fanes — the hearts of the wise and just — and these 
constitute the noble few 'who were not born to die.' 

"To this exalted fraternity will future generations 
assign the heroic Georgian ; and though his grave 



77 

be not upon his * native heath,' it will still be sacred 
to all who love the brave and true, for 

' Such graves are pilgrim shrines — 

Shrines to no creed or code confined ; 
The Delphian vales, the Palestines, 
The Meccas of the mind.' " 

Even the pulpit did not neglect to signalize an 
event so universally lamented. 

The following extract is from a sermon preached 
by Dr. William T. Brantly, of Atlanta, Georgia, 
shortly after Gov. Cobb's death. After elucidating 
the nature of that spiritual liberty which is the gift 
of "the Son" (John viii. 36), the Doctor labored to 
impress his congregation with the importance and 
wisdom of making hmnediate efforts to secure it. 
In this connection he said: 

"The duty to which I have referred is impres- 
sively urged upon our consideration by that melan- 
choly event which was yesterday announced to our ~4-, 
community by a telegraphic despatch from New 
York. I allude to the death of the Hon. Howell 
Cobb. This occurrence, which has awakened sin- 
cere sorrow in many hearts all over our land, 
has covered with mourning the homes of several 

members of this church. An illustrious man has 

7* 



78 

fallen. Whether we consider his Intellectual en- 
dowments, the commanding force of his oratory, 
the extensive Influence he wielded, the high posi- 
tions he so long and so ably filled both In the 
State and the National councils, or his ardent and 
disinterested patriotism, it must be conceded by 
all parties that he was one of the most distin- 
guished men Georgia has ever produced. Self- 
possessed, discriminating, prompt and impartial, he 
was, as a presiding officer, fully the peer of the 
ablest man who ever preceded or followed him in 
the Speaker's chair of the National House of 
Representatives. When Georgia passed her ordi- 
nance of secession, no man entered more earnestly 
and self-sacrificing than did he into the cause of 
Southern independence ; and when that cause was 
overwhelmed with Irretrievable disaster, no man 
was more truly afflicted. 

"But the honors which men heaped upon him 
are of small value now. 

' How loved, how valued once, avails thee not, 
To whom related, or by whom begot : 
A heap of dust alone remains of thee ; 
'Tis all thou art, and all the great shall be.' 

•' Was he a Christian ? Had Christ Invested 



19 

him with that exalted freedom of which I have 
been speaking to you this morning? He made 
no public profession of his faith In a divine Sa- 
viour; yet there Is good reason for believing that 
the great question of his soul's salvation was with 
him a matter of profound concern, and that he was 
not a stranger to that preparation without which 
fallen man cannot meet his Maker In peace. Years 
ago, when I was his pastor in Athens, I had occa- 
sion to visit him during a period of domestic afflic- 
tion, when. In answer to a question proposed, he 
said to me, 'I do not see how It Is possible for 
any man to be without concern in regard to his 
spiritual condition,' Subsequently I met him at 
the bedside of his dying father. And when he 
saw how peacefully and even triumphantly his 
aged sire responded to the summons, from which, 
though a consistent Christian, he had recoiled 
through life, an Impression was made on the mind 
of the son which was never effaced. Those who 
only saw him as he mingled among men in all the 
exuberance of his natural hilarity, had little idea of 
the spiritual struggllngs which were progressing 
within. 

"On one occasion, in his native town, he rose 



8o 

before a large congregation and presented himself 
among those who were soliciting an interest in 
the prayers of Christian people. The last time I 
preached in the city of Macon (a few months 
ago) I saw him in the congregation, listening with 
reverent attention as I was attempting to present 
Jesus as the Way and the Life. Pious and judicious 
friends, to whom of late he more particularly dis- 
closed his religious emotions, have told me since 
his death that he had given them very consoling 
evidence that he was a regenerated man. He 
signified to them and to others his determination 
to profess publicly his faith in Christ at an early 
day. There is ground, then, for believing that he 
was not a stranger to that faith which he did not 
openly avow, and that the blow which so instan- 
taneously broke the 'pitcher at the fountain,' thus 
arresting with a mortal chill, the action of the 
natural heart, did not fall upon a heart spiritually 
unprepared for the solemn event. We may com- 
fort ourselves with the persuasion that the sum- 
mons which came 'like a clap of thunder in a 
cloudless sky' was but a call to 'depart and be 
with Christ, which is far better' than to be here. 
" But let this startllngly sudden death admonish 



8i 

us all. We must be insensible and stupid indeed 
if from this event we hear not a voice saying to 
us, 'Be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye 
think not, the Son of Man cometh.' 'Whatsoever 
thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for 
in the grave whither thou goest there is no work, 
nor knowledge, nor wisdom, nor device.' " 




LAMENTATION. 



£ut now he is dead^ wherefore should I fast? Can I 
britig him back agaiit? I shall go to him^ but he shall not 
return to me. — 2 Samuel xii. 23. 

Weep 7iot for the dead^ neither bemoan him; but weep 
for him that gocth away ; for he shall return no more., nor 
see his native cotaitry. — Jeremiah xxii. 10. 

But I would not have you ignorant., brethren., concerning 
them which are asleep., that ye sorrow not., even as others 
which have no hope. For if we believe that fesus died 
and rose again^ even so tJiem also which sleep in fesus 
will God briitg with him. — i Thessalonians, iv. 13, 14. 

For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth., aud sc.ourgeth 
every son whom he receiveth. — Hebrews xii. 6. 



The sorrows of my spirit are enlarged, 

My eyes are full of tears ; 
The grief with which my soul is overcharged 

Excites strange doubts and fears : 
Alas ! I seek, I call, in vain, in vain. 
On earthly friendships to relieve my pain ! 

We grieve to think our eyes no more 

That form, those features loved, shall trace ; 

But sweet it is, from memory's store. 
To call each fondly cherished grace. 
And fold them in the heart's embrace. 

No bliss 'mid worldly crowds is bred 

Like musing on the sainted dead. 



II. 




LAME NT A TION. 

HE news of the death of Gen. Cobb 
reached Athens, Georgia, on the 9th of 
October. On Monday, the 12th, a meet- 
ing of the citizens was held at the Town Hall, for 
the purpose of expressing their deep sorrow at 
his death, and of testifying their respect and rever- 
ence for his memory. 

The following are the official minutes of that 
meeting, with the exception of the addresses, which 
were furnished at the special request of the editor: 



Public Meeting. 

Monday, October 12, 1868. 

The citizens of Athens met in solemn assembly 
at noon to-day, to pay the last public tribute to the 
memory of a great man, occasioned by the sudden, 

8 85 



86 

sorrowful and lamented death of our gifted States- 
man, our noble Patriot, our generous Friend, our 
eloquent Orator, our sage Counselor and our brave 
Defender — Hon. Howell Cobb ; James D. Pittard, 
Intendant, presiding, and Albert L. Mitchell, acting 
as Secretary. 

The Chairman stated the object of the meeting 
as above recorded. 

Gen. William M. Browne moved that a com- 
mittee of seven be appointed to draft resolutions 
to be submitted to the meeting. The Chair ap- 
pointed Gen. William M. Browne, Colonel Stevens 
Thomas, Major M. Stanley, Judge Y. L. G. Harris, 
John H. Newton, Hon. Junius Hillyer and Colonel 
B. C. Yancey, who reported the following resolu- 
tions through the Chairman, Gen, Browne, who in 
presenting them, eulogized the life and character 
of the deceased: 

Speech of Gen. William M. Browne. 

Mr. Chairman and Fellow-citizens: The duty 
devolves upon me, as Chairman of the committee 
which has been appointed to prepare resolutions 
on the mournful occasion which has called us to- 
gether to-day, to report the result of our delibera- 



87 

tlons. In doing so, sir, I cannot refrain from say- 
ing that never, during the course of a not unevent- 
ful life, have I been required to discharge a duty 
which caused me profounder sorrow or severer 
pain. 

Howell Cobb was the dearest and best friend 
I had on earth. I have known him well and inti- 
mately for many years. Our friendship was of the 
warmest, closest and most cordial character. I felt 
toward him the affection of a brother, I gave him 
the confidence of a brother, and it is among the 
most comforting of my reflections now, in my great 
grief, that he fully and warmly reciprocated that 
affection and that confidence. In all our associa- 
tion, 4uring all the years of our companionship, 
there never was a moment when our friendship 
was interrupted by the slightest jar or misunder- 
standing. You all, gentlemen, have lost a valued 
friend. I have lost an only brother; for, had he 
been my brother by blood as well as by affection, 
I could not have loved him better. David did not 
love Jonathan more truly than I loved Howell 
Cobb. 

He was one of the greatest and best men I have 
ever known. He was the most generous, tolerant, 



88 

unselfish man I ever knew. He was the best hus- 
band, the most affectionate son, the most Indulgent 
parent, the most steadfast friend, the most genial 
companion. I do not believe that an ungenerous 
or uncharitable wish ever found a resting-place in 
his great heart ; and even toward the few who 
could be called his enemies, I know that he enter- 
tained no feelings of lasting animosity or ill will. 
On the contrary, I have known him put himself to 
trouble and inconvenience to serve and gratify 
men who had maliened his character and had 
attempted to sully his fame. Not long ago, con- 
versing with me about a man with whom at one 
time he w^as upon friendly terms, but who had 
been for many years among the most unscrupulous 
and vindictive of his enemies, he remarked, in reply 
to some indignant observation of mine, " Notwith- 
standing all that has done to forfeit my 

respect, there is a kind place in my heart for 
that man yet." And almost at the hour when his 
noble nature found expression in that sentiment 
of forgiveness, the man of whom he spoke was 
attempting to represent him as cruel, malevolent 
and uncharitable. 

Here, in this presence, I feel that it would be 



89 

almost presumptuous for me to consider and dis- 
cuss at any length the character and merits of my 
lamented friend. At another time that duty will, 
doubtless, be performed, and will be entrusted to 
abler hands than mine. But in the reverence paid 
to his memory, to his private worth and to those 
lovable qualities which made everybody who knew 
him his friend, we may participate now, with all 
propriety and earnestness of feeling. We have all 
known him in private life. We have seen him 
mingle in our social circles. We have known his 
mode and way of life, and many of you whom I 
see here to-day have known him from his boyhood 
up. We can testify to the perfect uprightness and 
purity of his character, the simplicity of his habits, 
the affability of his manners, the cheerfulness of 
his conversation and his unchanging fidelity to his 
friends. We can testify, too, to his great benevo- 
lence and his munificent charities dispensed, not 
ostentatiously or fitfully, but in secret and as the 
constant pleasure of his life, diffusing comfort and 
gladness around him. Oh, my friends, I could 
pour out my heart like water in speaking of the 
great virtues which were embodied in the character 
and exemplified by the conduct of our deceased 

8* 



90 

friend — ^virtues which we all loved to contemplate 
with gratitude and admiration, which were a load- 
stone attracting to itself universal confidence, uni- 
versal love and universal respect ; and the recol- 
lection of which, descending with time, will be for 
ever cherished so long as the great and the good 
are objects of regard. 

I confess, gentlemen, that I can scarcely realize 
the dreadful reality that I shall never see my friend 
again in life ; that I shall never hear his cheerful 
voice, never listen to his affectionate counsel, never 
again grasp his honest hand. But it is so. He is 
gone — ^gone for ever. The place which knew him 
once so well will know him no more, and all that 
is left to you and to me is to drop a tear upon his 
grave and treasure his memory in our hearts so 
long as we live. 

The following are the resolutions, alike exceed- 
ingly appropriate in character and felicitous in 
expression : 

Whereas, In his Inscrutable wisdom, it has pleased 
Almighty God to remove from among us, our be- 
loved friend and esteemed fellow-citizen, Howell 
Cobb, whose childhood, early manhood and maturer 
years were spent in our midst, whose name and 



91 ^--^_ 

fame were objects of our pride, admiration and 
respect, and who was endeared to us by the strong- 
est ties of intimate association ; and. 

Whereas, While we bow in humble submission to 
the will of Him who orders all things for good, and 
who has seen fit to visit our community with this 
heavy and unexpected calamity, as the friends, 
companions of his boyhood and manhood, and 
neighbors of the deceased, we would testify the 
heartfelt sorrow with which we mourn his loss, the 
profound respect which we feel for his eminent 
character, exalted virtues and commanding talents, 
and the affectionate remembrance in which we hold 
those many genial social qualities which made his 
friendship so dear, and his society so charming; 
and, 

Whereas, It is the duty of every Georgian to 
record his respect for the memory of one whose 
life of eminent public service in all the high and 
responsible offices which he filled, was spent in 
ceaseless effort to promote the welfare and uphold 
the honor and dignity of Georgia, it is especially 
proper for us who knew and loved him best, in 
addition to a recognition of his public service, to 
render to his generous, unselfish character and 



92 

private worth, ere the portals of the tomb close 
over him for ever, every tribute of regard, respect 
and reverence of which our hearts are capable ; 
Therefore be it 

Resolved, As the sense of the citizens of Athens 
that in the death of Gen. Howell Cobb, we have 
each lost a valued friend, our town a high-minded 
and honored citizen, our State a noble, gifted and 
devoted Son, and our country a true Patriot and a 
great Statesman. 

Resolved, That the citizens of Athens will attend 
the funeral in a body, and that the Faculty and 
Students of the University and the High School, 
the members of the two Literary Societies, the 
Masonic Fraternity and the Society of Odd Fel- 
lows, and the Fire Companies be invited to partici- 
pate with us in the discharge of this mournful duty. 

Resolved, That the Chair be requested to appoint 
one hundred citizens as a special guard of honor 
to meet the remains on their arrival, and escort 
them from the depot. 

Resolved, That a Committee of three be ap- 
pointed by the Chair to communicate the fore- 
going to the afflicted widow and the family of the 
deceased, and to offer to her and to them the most 



93 

heartfelt expression of our deep sympathy and 
respect. 

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting 
be pubhshed in the town papers. 

William M. Browne, 
Stevens Thomas, 
M. Stanley, 
Y. L. G. Harris, 
John H. Newton, 
Junius Hillyer, 
Benjamin C. Yancey. 
The resolutions were unanimously adopted ; after 
which Hon. Junius Hillyer eloquently spoke of the 
virtue, integrity, nobility and grandeur of the cha- 
racter of Gen. Cobb from his infancy to his grave. 

Address of Hon. Junius Hillyer. 

Mr. Chairman : Forty-eight years ago I saw Gen. 
Cobb for the first time. He was standing in the 
middle of the street between the post-office corner 
and the Lombard building. He was five years old, 
and I was thirteen. 

Being surprised to see so small a boy alone in 
the street, I asked him who he was. He told me 
his name was Howell Cobb. 



94 

From that time to the close of his life I knew 
him. He was a sprightly, remarkable boy, and 
attracted much attention. Everybody in town knew 
of him and spoke of him. From his boyhood 
through his whole life, his cheerful, genial temper 
rendered his society peculiarly attractive. When 
he was admitted to the Bar, he was for a short 
time associated with me in the practice of law. In 
1837 he was elected by the Legislature, Solicitor 
of the Western Circuit, and for three years he filled 
that office with distinguished ability, and was, in- 
deed, a terror to evil-doers. In 1842 he was 
selected by a Convention of the Democratic party 
as one of its candidates for Congress, and was in 
the same year elected. Notwithstanding his youth, 
he took a high position in Congress- among the 
leaders of his party, and early distinguished him- 
self as one of the statesmen of the country. 

In his political life. Gen. Cobb rose far above the 
position of a mere party leader. 

His statesmanship reached a high nationality, 
and embraced within its comprehension all the 
interests of his country. Throughout the whole 
breadth of the realm, the views of Gen. Cobb were 
understood and quoted as authority ; and in all the 



95 

civilized nations of the world, whenever the affairs 
and policy of America were spoken of, the name 
of Howell Cobb was known, and his position on 
the various questions of public interest was com- 
mented on, as having great weight with the Amer- 
ican people and entitled to the greatest respect 
abroad. He was eminently a national man, and 
his reputation constitutes a part of the rich treas- 
ure of the American people. In 1849 ^^ was 
chosen Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
and in that position he added new fame to his 
exalted character, manifesting an administrative 
ability that greatly distinguished him. In 1851 he 
was elected Governor of the State of Georgia, 
when he greatly advanced the interests of the 
State. In 1855 he was again elected to Congress. 
In 1857 he was chosen a member of Mr. Buchanan's 
Cabinet and placed at the head of the Treasury 
Department. Upon his recommendation and at his 
request I was selected as the law officer of the 
Treasury Department, which placed me near his 
person and brought me in close connection with a 
very large portion of his official duties, and enables 
me to speak from my own knowledge of the 
wisdom and integrity of his administration. All 



96 

the bonds given by the principal officers of the 
Government, and all contracts with the department 
passed under my supervision. All suits brought 
by the Government for debts, except in the Post- 
office Department, were under my control, and all 
claims upon the Treasury were submitted to me 
for my opinion. I mention this to show how inti- 
mate and extensive was my connection with Gen. 
Cobb in the discharge of our official duties, and 
how I had opportunity to observe and to know 
his honesty and Integrity and his great adminis- 
trative power. I can speak here from my own 
knowledge. My frequent long, careful and confi- 
dential consultations with him and his faithful 
Assistant Secretary, Mr. Clayton, enable me to 
speak of his wisdom, his careful, conscientious 
regard for the law and the true interests of the 
Treasury. 

Toward the close of Mr. Buchanan's administra- 
tion, Gen. Cobb left the Cabinet ajid returned to 
Georgia, to take part in the great movement that 
then convulsed the State. He believed that the 
ascendency of the abolition sentiment in the Gov- 
ernment of the United States prostrated all hope 
that the property and interests of the Southern 



91 

States would be protected by that Government, 
and he believed that the only safety for the South 
was in a withdrawal from the Union. He was a 
member of the Convention that adopted the Con- 
federate Constitution, and was also a member of 
the Provisional Congress at Montgomery, Alabama. 
Early in the war he raised a regiment with the 
rank of Colonel, and was soon promoted to be 
Brigadier-General, and was again promoted to be 
Major-General, which position he held in the Con- 
federate army at the time of the surrender. After 
the surrender he was arrested at his house in this 
town by United States soldiers and ordered to 
Washington. On the way he was stopped by 
orders from^ President Johnson, and discharged 
from arrest, as was supposed at the instance of 
Gen. Grant. 

Thus I have rapidly and briefly sketched the 
public life of Gen. Cobb from its commencement 
to its close. I know I have not done it justice. I 
have not attempted that. It will be left for him 
who writes the history of the American Govern- 
ment for the last twenty-five years to do justice to 
the name and character of Gen. Cobb. I must 
only stand here among you, his neighbors and life- 



98 

long friends, to briefly tell you what you all know. 
No man knew Gen. Cobb better than I did. For 
thirty years we were engaged in the practice of 
law in the same courts. We have traveled thou- 
sands of miles in the same buggy. For more than 
twenty years we often occupied the same room at 
the hotels, I have often been opposed to him and 
associated with him in the trial of the most import- 
ant causes involving the life, liberty and property 
of our clients. When opposed to Gen. Cobb, I 
well knew that I had nothing to hope from any 
oversight or mistake. I well knew that ever)^ point 
of law would be taken and ever)^ point in the 
testimony would be presented and commented on. 
But it was when associated with him in the trial of 
important causes that I had an opportunity of ob- 
serving the strength and breadth of his intellect. 
Often we have been eno^aofed till a late hour of the 
night in consultation on some case then being on 
trial or soon to be called. It was there, around 
the consultation-table, that Gen. Cobb should have 
been seen to be fully appreciated. There were 
exhibited his cool sagacity and his careful, un- 
wearied attention to all the points of law and fact. 
It was there that his associate counsel felt the 



99 

strength that he brought to the cause, and learned 
to lean on him with hope and confidence. 

I have referred to Gen. Cobb's genial and at- 
tractive temper. But it was on the circuit that his 
social qualities rose to absolute splendor. It was 
on the circuit that everybody gathered around him 
to enjoy his company. Those who never traveled 
the Western Circuit can never fully know how 
pleasant a man he was. 

But Gen. Cobb is eone and the Bar of the West- 
ern Circuit is gone. Mr. Paine, Gen. Harden, Judge 
Harris, Judge Dougherty, Judge Dawson, Judge 
Cone, Judge Lumpkin, Col. Stanford, Mr. J. Peeples, 
Mr. Overby, Mr. Haygood, Col. Deloney, Capt. Tem- 
ple Cooper, Mr. R. Milligan, Col. Wm. Milligan, Col. 
McMillan, Mr. Malcome, J. Walker and Gen. Thos. 
R. R. Cobb are all dead. Col. Foster, Mr. C. Pee- 
ples, Judge Jackson, Mr. Hull and Judge Under- 
wood have left the circuit. Two or three old men 
still linger and look back and remember scenes 
and places that we no longer visit. And now the 
bright star of the Western Circuit has gone down 
for ever, and a great light is this day extinguished. 
How sad are these reflections and how sad is this 
crowning hour! Melancholy yet pleasant is the 



ICX) 



memory of days long — long ago, when my lamented 
friend would often take me home with him, and 
with his then young and beautiful bride extend to 
me a genial hospitality. I ever felt welcome at his 
board and with his family. Surely it becomes me 
to speak at his funeral and to mingle my tears with 
those who mourn for him. 

And now, my young friends, in view of this 
solemn occasion, and of these sad reminiscences, 
may I not say a word to you — a word of warning 
and of counsel ? It has been said of Gen. Cobb 
that a great man has this day fallen in Israel ; it 
may also be said a strong man has fallen. He was 
remarkable for his powers of endurance and for the 
strength of his constitution. I have known him to 
endure for many hours the extreme severity of cold 
and heat, of storms of snow and rain, and yet I 
never heard him complain of cold or fatigue. And 
yet, my young friends, he is gone. His strength, 
his endurance and the soundness of his constitution 
could not save him. Let his sudden, premature 
death be a warning to you and to us all. Gen. 
Cobb never united himself with any ecclesiastical 
organization. But I have reason to know that re- 
ligion had made a deep impression on his mind, and 



lOI 



that from his heart went up with fervent emotion 
many an earnest prayer that the world knew not of. 

Young gentlemen, I can commend to you the 
example of Gen. Cobb in his social and political 
life, and I will venture also to commend his religious 
emotions. 

My friends, let us be warned by the sudden de- 
parture of our friend to remember how frail we 
are, and to prepare to obey when we are called, 
and to unite with him and with one another in that 
mansion in the heavens, eternal, not made with 
hands, prepared by our Saviour for his people. 

Remarks of Hon. Benj. C. Yancey. 

Athens, Ga., April 22, 1869. 

Rev. S. Boykin, Macon: 

My Dear Sir: You solicit a copy of remarks 
made by me, in October last, before an assemblage 
of citizens of this place, on the occasion of the sad 
news of the sudden death, in New York City, of our 
distinguished citizen — Hon. Howell Cobb. 

You desire it for publication in a Book Memorial 
of the illustrious dead. 

I have hesitated to comply with your wish, from 
a consciousness of my inability to reproduce the 



I02 

words extemporized — the inspiration of sensibilities 
deeply moved by the unexpected and sudden dis- 
pensation of Providence. 

But my love for the dead, a sense of duty to con- 
tribute my mite to cherish his memory, and a hope 
that the contribution of my testimony to your Me- 
morial may result in aiding to win young men to 
practice the virtues of the lamented Cobb, constrain 
me to yield to your request. 

I furnish a condensed statement of my line of 
thought as well as I can recall the expression : 

The resolutions In honor of Gov. Cobb meet 
my approval. It had been my privilege to enjoy 
his friendship and confidence for thirty-five years. 
Memory traced its manifestations through a period 
of more than a third of a century to an acquaint- 
ance formed in college life. In the halls of the 
university in this town a friendship was formed 
which lapse of years, distance of residence, and 
occasional differences of political opinion and con- 
duct, never weakened. He was two years my 
senior, and at that period in advance of me in col- 
lege classes ; but there was more Intimacy between 
us than is usual between senior and sophomore. 
We were in the same literary society, and after 



I03 

graduation, being a resident of Athens, he studied 
law here and continued frequently to attend and 
participate in the weekly debates in the Phi-Kappa 
Society. Through that period of three years and 
more of personal intercourse, he manifested that 
ardent, unselfish affection, generous, magnanimous 
impulses of the heart, quickness and vigor of mind, 
all of which he developed and displayed in greater 
maturity and power in the numerous official posi- 
tions. State and Federal, to which he was called in 
subsequent life. 

Ver}' few men have ever possessed his vivacity 
of spirit, his social nature, his popularity of address, 
winning the esteem of all classes of Society — low 
and high, poor and rich, ignorant and learned. It 
was a magnetic power, originating from a heart 
full, generous, enlarged — embracing humanity. His 
rapid bound, in very early manhood into Congress, 
and subsequent rapid promotion to various high 
official positions, were not, therefore, matters of sur- 
prise. He was a man endowed with rare gifts. 
To these he united an unusually accurate know- 
lege of human nature and great sagacity as a 
statesman. 

Though our pathways in life till a few years 



I04 

back had been in different States, yet his pubHc 
positions brought him under my observation, and 
my domestic associations in this town of his resi- 
dence often placed us in maturer Hfe in personal 
intercourse. For a few years we had been fellow- 
citizens here. My opportunities, therefore, for 
knowing the man had been full. 

I would not undertake to elaborate upon the 
enlarged official life of the lamented Cobb. He 
had been Solicitor-general of this Judicial Circuit; 
had served several terms In the House of Repre- 
sentatives of the Congress of the United Statj^s, 
in which he had been speaker ; filled the guberna- 
torial office of the State ; was Secretary of the 
Treasury — a member of the Cabinet of President 
Buchanan ; was President of the Provisional Con- 
gress of the Confederate Government ; Colonel 
and General in the Confederate Army ; had been 
my associate in the Board of Trustees of the Uni- 
versity of the State. Suffice it to say, that he filled 
every position with ability and honor ; and through- 
out life, whenever opportunity was presented, dis- 
played the benevolence of his great heart. 

He is gone ! Called hence by his Creator, in 
the full maturity of his intellect and manhood, with 



but a moment's warning. We should derive from 
this sudden and inscrutable dispensation of Provi- 
dence the instruction that in the midst of life we 
are in death, and heed the voice of Wisdom: 
" Therefore, be ye also ready ; for in such an hour 
as ye think not the Son of man cometh." "For 
as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth 
even unto the west, so shall the coming of the 
Son of man be." 

Each one of us might be profited by studying 
the character and practicing the virtues of our 
lamented, distinguished citizen. We should cher- 
ish the memory of Howell Cobb. 

Respectfully, 

Benjamin C. Yancey. 

Mr. Yancey, on taking his seat, was followed by 
Col. Stevens Thomas, who, in melancholy beauty, 
portrayed the sincerity, the nobility, the grand- 
eur and the sublimity of Gen. Cobb's true man- 
hood. 

[The editor regrets that he Is not able to furnish 
an exact copy of Col. Stevens Thomas' address. 
The accompanying letter shows that the substance 
only of the speech is given.] 



io6 

Athens, Ga., Nov. 21, 1868. 

Rev. Samuel Boykin, Macoti, Ga.: 

Dear Sir: Your favor of the 8th instant was 
duly received, and I avail myself of the first leisure 
moment to reply. 

I have endeavored to write out (recalling as well 
I could the precise language) the substance of the 
remarks made by me at the meeting of citizens of 
this place on the occasion of the death of Gen. 
Cobb, and herewith enclose a copy of the same. 
Very respectfully yours, etc., 

S. Thomas. 

Remarks of Col. Stevens Thomas. 

Mr. Chairman : I might leave to others and the 
quiet reflections of my own mind a review of the 
life and character of our illustrious friend and fellow- 
citizen. But a grateful recollection of his confi- 
dence and friendship impels me to unite my humble 
voice with that of others in this sad requiem to his 
memory. The voice now hushed in death ever 
spoke to me the words of kindness and sympathy, 
and language would fail me in the attempt to 
express the emotions which I felt upon the startling 
announcement of his sudden and untimely fall. 



Sir, it was my privilege to know Gen. Cobb long 
and well, and I can, with all truthfulness, say that I 
never knew in him an instance of a departure from 
the standard of a refined and lofty sense of honor. 
Besides that remarkable magnanimity of character 
which he so often exhibited, and which has been so 
appropriately alluded to by others on this occasion, 
there was another characteristic, to my mind 
equally rare and striking — it was his unaffected 
simplicity of character. No man was freer from 
vanity or conventionalism ; whether in prosperity or 
adversity, in private life or in high public position, 
he was ever the same, unchanged by circumstance 
or condition ; and he won all hearts which came 
within the magic circle of his influence, no less by 
the charms of his intellect than by the genial warmth 
of his frank, manly nature. 

In the private and intimate relations which he 
sustained to his kindred and his friends, it is but 
simple truth to say that he was all the tenderest 
affection could claim or the warmest friendship 
demand. 

Of his long, successful public career this Is not 
the proper occasion to speak, but I may say that he 
truly filled the measure of a patriot's duty ; for his 



io8 

entire mature life was devoted to the service of his 
country. 

With firm and unfaltering step he trod the dlffi- 
cuh paths that lead to pohtlcal preferment. As he 
advanced from one commanding position to another, 
it seemed to those of us who started with him in 
the race of Hfe as If his vision grew and expanded 
with the horizon to which he attained. Identified 
as he was, to a large extent, with many of the great 
events of the time In which he lived, both before 
and during the late war, he proved himself equal to 
any emergency, and sustained himself with marked 
ability among men whose renown is imperishable. 

But he is gone ! Stricken In the full maturity of 
vigorous manhood, like some majestic oak towering 
above the surrounding forest, he has suddenly 
fallen, and the reverberations of his fall, resounding 
far and near, touch a responsive chord in every 
sympathetic heart ; and though that manly form is 
now clothed In the habiliments of the grave, and 
that eye, which so beamed with light and every 
generous emotion, is now closed in the night of 
death, yet will the memory of his eminent public 
worth and generous nature live long after most of 
us, who pay this unavailing tribute to his memory, 



lOp 

shall have passed to that spirit-land to which he has 
but preceded us by a few short, fleeting years. 

The following gentlemen were appointed a Com- 
mittee of Condolence to extend to the grief-stricken 
family the heartfelt sympathies of this whole com- 
munity. Committee — Gen. Wm. M. Browne, Col. 
Stevens Thomas, Mr. John H. Newton, 

A committee, consisting of Dr. R. M. Smith, 
Judge Y. L. G. Harris, Hon. Junius Hillyer, Col. 
Benjamin C. Yancey, Maj. M. Stanley, E. P. Lump- 
kin, Esq., and Mr. L. J. Lampkin, was appointed to 
co-operate with the family of the deceased in mak- 
ing arrangements for the funeral. 

In obedience to the resolutions, one hundred citi- 
zens were appointed as a special guard of honor 
to meet the remains on their arrival, and escort 
them from the depot. 

Capt. H. A. Gartrell, Dr. E. D. Newton, Capt. 
Frank Pope, Dr. William King, Dr. H. R. J. Long, 
Capt. Richard J. Wilson, Mr. W. G. Noble, and W. 
W. Lumpkin, Esq., were appointed a committee 
of citizens to join with the committee from the City 
Council, and meet the body at Union Point and 
attend it to Athens. 

Upon motion of Capt. H. A. Gartrell, the Com- 

10 



no 

mittee of Arrangements, consisting of Dr. R. M. 
Smith, Col. Benjamin C. Yancey and others, were 
instructed to select some suitable person to deliver 
an eulogy upon the life and character of General 
Howell Cobb, and that said committee confer with 
a committee appointed by the Phi-Kappa Society 
for a similar purpose. 

Upon motion the meeting adjourned. 

James D. Pittard, Intendant, Chairman. 

Albert L. Mitchell, Secretary. 

Council Chamber. 

Athens, October 12, 1868. 

The Board of Wardens was called together this 
morning to take suitable action upon the melan- 
choly occurrence of the death of our esteemed and 
distinguished fellow-citizen, Hon. Howell Cobb, 
who hath so recently and so suddenly passed away. 
His Honor, Intendant Pittard, presided. Wardens 
Thomas, Ritch, BIllups, Lumpkin, Dobbs and Beusse 
were present, being a full meeting of the Board. 

Warden Billups moved that a committee of three 
be appointed to draft resolutions expressive of the 
regret, the sorrow and the grief of Athens at the 
loss of so great and so noble a man. 



Ill 



The committee appointed were Wardens Billups, 
Thomas and Lumpkin, who reported the following 
resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : 

Preamble and Resolutions. — A great man has 
fallen. Gen. Howell Cobb, a resident of Athens 
for much the larger part of his life, will be seen in 
our midst no more. Suddenly, on the morning of 
the 9th instant, in the city of New York, " the sil- 
ver cord was loosed," and his noble spirit passed 
from earth. Alas ! for the country that such a loss 
should come upon it at such a time ! An incor- 
ruptible patriot, a wise statesman, an accomplished 
orator, a gallant soldier, a generous man and an 
unfaltering friend, his death will be deplored by the 
wise and the good, by the brave and the true- 
hearted everywhere. 

But by us, as Georgians, and especially as citi- 
zens of Athens, among whom he lived so long, and 
by whom he was so much loved and honored, this 
most sad event cannot but be regarded with pecu- 
liar grief and poignancy. 

Therefore be it resolved, 

I. That, in humble submission to Almighty God, 
we mourn the death of Gen. Howell Cobb with a 
sorrow the most sincere and profound. 



112 



2. That by his fideHty and abihty In all the high 
positions which he filled ; and by his noble and gen- 
erous bearing as a citizen, and in all the relations 
of life, he has left a name which we will proudly 
cherish and hand down in honor to posterity. 

3. That we tender to the bereaved family of the 
deceased our deepest and most unfeigned sympa- 
thy, and our earnest hopes that in their great afflic- 
tion they may be sustained by the hand of Him 
who loves while he chastens. 

4. That the Intendant be instructed to appoint a 
committee of the Council to meet the remains at 
Union Point and attend them to Athens. 

5. That the Intendant be requested to appoint a 
committee of seven citizens to act conjointly with 
the family of the deceased in making arrangements 
for the funeral. 

6. That this preamble and these resolutions be 
placed among the records of the Council, and pub- 
lished with the proceedings, and that a copy, signed 
in due form, be transmitted to the bereaved family. 

H. C. BiLLUPS, Chairman. 
J. J. Thomas, 
Frank Lumpkin. 
In conformity to the fourth resolution, a commit- 



"3 

tee, consisting of Wardens Ritch, Beusse, Lumpkin 
and Thomas, was appointed to meet the remains at 
Union Point and attend them to Athens. 
Upon motion, the Board adjourned. 

A. L. Mitchell, Clerk of Council. 

The Phi-Kappa Society, of which Gov. Cobb was 
an honorary member, also evinced its high respect 
for the deceased by adopting the following pream- 
ble and resolutions : 

University of Georgia. 

Phi-Kappa Hall, October 12, 1868. 

" The Reaper, whose name is Death," has come 
again with his scythe and removed from our midst 
the most venerated, respected and beloved of our 
honorary brothers. When least expected he came 
to do his solemn and terrible work. At no time is 
he welcome, but when he comes to bear away in 
the evening of life the man of a well-spent and 
glorious career, the sadness of his advent is alle- 
viated by the mellowing glow of the illustrious 
example left to posterity. 

Death has been in the literary circle of our bro- 
therhood, and borne from us the noblest of the 
10* H 



114 

noble, the wisest of the wise and the truest of the 
true. Gen. Howell Cobb " sleeps the sleep that 
knows no waking," Realizing the Irreparable 
loss we have sustained, In common with our whole 
country, we as a body would express our profound 
respect for his memory, and our deep sympathy for 
his large and affectionate family, In this the sad hour 
of their bereavement. Whether we contemplate 
the deceased as a friend, a patriot, a soldier or a 
statesman, we find him ever the same generous, 
noble, prompt, brave, enthusiastic spirit, who, know- 
ing the truth and the right, dared both to maintain. 
We breathe the universal sentiment of all classes, 
the poor and the rich, the ignorant and the learned, 
the false and the true, when we say a great man 
has fallen — the protector of the oppressed and the 
friend of the poor. Humbly submitting to the 
divine edict of the KIncr of kino-s and Lord of 
lords in removing from us our honorary brother, 
we, the Phi-Kappa Society, do resolve : 

I. That in the death of Gen. Howell Cobb our 
society has lost one of her oldest and most re- 
spected members, our State her noblest son, who, 
identified more with her past history than any one 
within her borders, has ever sustained in the high- 



"5 

est offices of her gift the same unswerving integ- 
rity and faithful adherence to her social and politi- 
cal interests ; the poor their best friend, education 
her warmest advocate, and those connected to him 
by the nearest and dearest relations of life, a heart 
whose nobleness, kindness and unselfish affection 
they alone can fully appreciate. 

2. That we tender to his grief-stricken family 
the assurances of our heartfelt sympathy in this 
the season of their sad affliction. 

3. That the members of this society attend in a 
body the remains of our deceased brother to the 
grave, and that we wear the usual badge of mourn- 
ing for the space of thirty days in honor of his 
memory. 

4. That a copy of this preamble and these reso- 
lutions be furnished the family of the deceased, 
that the same be published in the city papers, and 
their publication earnestly requested by the press 
of the State. 

John E. Donalson, Chairman. 
N. E. Harris, 
John D. Rambo. 

The body of Gov. Cobb, suitably escorted, reached 



ii6 

Savannah by steamer on the 14th of October, and 
was conveyed immediately to Athens, Georgia, by 
a special train. The escort on Its way to Athens 
was swelled by the addition of delegations, per- 
sonal friends and admirers, who from all parts of 
the State were wending their way to the city of 
Athens to pay the last funeral honors to the 
lamented dead. 

The solemn tolling of the college bell announced 
to all, about the dawn of day on the morning of 
the 1 5th, that the remains had arrived. 




THE GRAVE. 



Whatsoever thy hand Jindeth to do^ do it with thy 
might; for there is no work^ nor device^ nor knoxvledge^ 
nor wisdom in the grave^ whither thou goest. — Ecclesiastes 
ix. lo. 

The Lord killeth and maketk alive; he hringeth down 
to the grave^ and bringeth up. — i Samuel ii. 6. 

God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave; 
for he shall receive me. — Psalm xlix. 15. 

I will ransom them from the power of the grave ; I will 
redeem them from death: O death., I will be thy plagues : 
O grave., I will be thy destruction. — Hosea xiii. 14. 



Hail, heavenly voice, once heard in Patmos ! " Write, 

Hencefortli the dead who die in Christ are blest : 

Yea, saith the Spirit, for they now shall rest 
From all their labors !" But no dull, dark night 
That rest o'ershadows : 'tis the dayspring bright 

Of bliss ; the foretaste of a richer feast ; 

A sleep, if sleep it be, of lively zest, 
Peopled with visions of intense delight. 
And though the secrets of that resting-place 

The soul embodied knows not ; yet she knows 
No sin is there, God's likeness to deface. 

To stint his love — no purgatorial woes ; 
Her dross is left behind, nor mixture base 

Mars the pure stream of the serene repose. 

'Tis a blessing to live, but a greater to die, 
And the best of the world is its path to the sky. 
Be it gloorny or bright, for the life that he gave 
Let us thank him — but blessed be God for the grave ! 
'Tis the end of our toil, 'tis the crown of our bliss, 
'Tis the portal of happiness — ay, but for this, 
How hopeless were sorrow, how narrow were love. 
If they looked not from earth to the rapture above ! 



III. 




THE GRAVE. 

COMMITTEE of one hundred citizens 
received the corpse and bore it in solemn 
silence into the city, where they were 
joiaed by the citizens generally, who, amid tears 
and lamentations, united in escorting the body to 
the Town Hall, There It was deposited in state, 
and permitted to remain until three o'clock, attended 
by a guard of honor. During the day hundreds 
came to gaze for the last time upon the coffin of 
one they had so long loved and revered. The 
coffin itself was placed upon a stand covered with 
black velvet, and the hall was hung with mourning 
drapery. The coffin remained unopened, and the 
sorrowing visitors were only enabled, with sad- 
dened hearts and moistened eyes, to read the fol- 
lowing inscription : 

119 



I20 

Gov. Howell Cobb, 

Died October 9, 1868, 

Aged 55 years and one month; 

then, with saddened countenance, they would turn 
and depart, without uttering a word. 

At three o'clock the following distinguished gen- 
tlemen, with crape upon their hats, and long white 
sashes across their shoulders, bore the coffin forth 
and placed it in a handsome hearse, drawn by four 
splendid horses : Col. Billups, Stevens Thomas, 
Judge Hillyer, Young L. G. Harris, Ferdinand 
Phinlzy, F. W. Adams, Gen. William M. Browne, 
Col D. C. Barrow. 

Then the procession was formed in the following 
order : 

1. Ministers of the Gospel. 

2. Order of Free Masons. 

3. Hearse, attended by Pall-bearers. 

4. Family and Relations of the deceased. 

5. Members of the Bar. 

6. Trustees and Faculty of the University. 

7. Literary Societies of the University. 

8. Teachers and Pupils of the University High 
School. 

9. Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 



121 

10. Intendant and Wardens of Athens, and other 
city and town officials. 

1 1 . Special Committees representing other com- 
munities. 

12. Representatives of the Press. 

13. Citizens on foot. 

14. Citizens in Carriages and on Horseback. 
With slow and solemn steps the procession 

wound through the streets and entered the col- 
lege chapel, speedily filling the large building. 
Ministers of the Gospel and members of the Bar 
from all parts of the State occupied the platform, 
in front of which, and covered with garlands of 
flowers, was placed the costly coffin, upon an ele- 
vated stand festooned gracefully with evergreen 
wreaths. The entire chapel, draped in mourning 
by loving hands, wore a most funereal aspect, and 
a sensation of irrepressible sadness and solemnity 
pervaded the vast assembly. Low sobbing was 
heard, and tears of grief coursed down many 
cheeks. The order and character of the exercises 
in the chapel accorded with the solemnity of the 
occasion, and with the dignity of the personage 
whom they were intended to honor. 

First, a solemn requiem was sung by the choir, 
11 



122 



and then Rev. R. K. Porter, Pastor of the Presby- 
terian Church in Atlanta, Georgia, read the follow- 
ing selections from the Scriptures : 

"We are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as 
were all our fathers : our days on the earth are as 
a shadow, and there is none abiding. Lord, make 
me to know mine end, and the measure of my 
days, what it is, that I may know how frail I am. 
For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and 
to the house appointed for all living. Then shall 
the dust return to the earth as it was, and the 
spirit shall return unto God who gave it. If a 
man die, shall he live again ? 

"Jesus said unto her (Martha), I am the resurrec- 
tion and the life. He that believeth in me, though 
he were dead, yet shall he live : and whosoever 
liveth and believeth in me, shall never die. I know 
that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand 
at the latter day, upon the earth : and though after 
my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh 
shall I see God ; whom I shall see for myself, and 
mine eyes shall behold, and not another. My flesh 
also shall rest in hope ; for thou wilt not leave my 
soul in hell ; neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one 
to see corruption. Knowing that He which raised 



123 

up the Lord Jesus, shall raise up us also by Jesus, 
and shall present us with you. 

" I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, 
concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow 
not, even as others which have no hope. For if 
we believe that Jesus died, and rose again, even 
so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring 
with him. Wherefore comfort one another with 
these words. For I reckon that the sufferings of 
this present time are not worthy to be compared 
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For 
the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for 
the manifestation of the sons of God. For the 
creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, 
but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same 
in hope : because the creature shall be delivered 
from the bondage of corruption unto the glorious 
liberty of the children of God. And we ourselves 
groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption — to 
wit, the redemption of our body. For we know 
that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were 
dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in 
this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed 
upon with our house which is from heaven, if so 



124 

be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 
For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being 
burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, but 
clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed 
up of life. 

" Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the 
first resurrection : on such the second death hath 
no power, but they shall be priests of God and 
of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand 
years." 

Rev. P. H. Mell, D. D., Vice-Chancellor of the 
Georgia State University, then offered a short and 
fervent prayer, after which. Rev. J. D. Burkhead, 
Pastor of the Athens Presbyterian Church, read 
the following hymn, which the choir sang with 
great feeling: 

Burial of a Christian Brother. 

Brother, rest from sin and sorrow ; 

Death is o'er, and life is won ; 
On thy slumber dawns no morrow : 

Rest ; thine earthly race is run. 

Brother, wake ; the night is waning ; 

Endless day is round thee poured ; 
Enter thou the rest remaining 

For the people of the Lord. 



125 

Brother, wake ; for He who loved thee — 
He who died that thou mightst live — 

He who graciously approved thee — 
Waits thy crown of joy to give. 

Fare thee well ; though woe is blending 

With the tones of earthly love, 
Triumph high and joy unending 

Wait thee in the realms above. 

At the conclusion of the hymn, Rev. E. W. 
Warren, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of 
Macon, Georgia, from the text, "Know ye not 
that a prince and a great man has fallen this day 
in Israel?" (2 Samuel iii. 28), preached the fol- 
lowing 

Funeral Discourse. 

I do not rise before you to eulogize the honored 
dead. This is not the occasion, nor am I the man, 
to enter this inviting field of thought, or avail my- 
self of so happy a subject. His eulogy is already 
in the hearts of the people. 

As a citizen of Macon, I but represent the feel- 
ings of our city, and the sentiments of the com- 
mittees here present, when I say we have come 
to mingle our tears with yours, and to make our 

sorrows one, and to claim the right of sharing 

11* 



126 

with you in the melancholy privilege of paying the 
last tribute of affectionate regard to the dead, 
whose loss we mourn with unaffected grief — a loss 
to our city, to our State, to our country. 

As his pastor, I came to bury, not to praise, my 
honored friend. Were I to utter a word of adula- 
tion, and that silent tongue could speak, it would 
say, "Forbear! only my life shall speak!" And so 
it shall be. 

True greatness is manifested in that complete- 
ness of character which, with unusual force and 
faithfulness, meets the emergencies and performs 
the obligations of life. It rises with the occasion, 
let that be what it may, and acts well its part. 

Passing over the political career of Gov. Cobb, 
which was characterized by special ability and 
commanding success ; let us consider those ele- 
ments of character which so much endeared him 
to us. 

In his professional and social life he involuntarily 
attached to himself all who knew him. His warm 
heart and transparent nature, his frank and genial 
deportment, his courtesy and nobility of character, 
gave him a welcome at all times to our homes and 
to our hearts. The better he was known, the more 



127 

he was appreciated : the nearer he was, the greater 
you perceived him to be. His attachments were 
unostentatious, natural, sincere. You were fully 
conscious that you enjoyed his friendship. 

He had a just appreciation of the great brother- 
hood of man, and a heart that beat in unison with 
his race. He could weep with those that wept, 
and it was his pleasure to rejoice with those who 
rejoiced. If he could have wielded the sword of 
unlimited power, it would have been against the 
enemies of man. Could he have calmed the ele- 
ments of discord, he would have said " Peace be 
still" to every passion in the heart of man that 
rises against his brother, and he would have 
fostered "peace on earth and good-will among 
men." Let not the tongue of poHtical detraction 
rob his fair name of this good impulse of his 
noble heart. Personal wrongs he labored to for- 
get ; personal kindness shown to him was grate- 
fully cherished. He possessed the charity which 
"rejoices not in Iniquity, but rejoices in the truth." 
His aversion to whatever he considered unmanly 
and hypocritical amounted almost to intolerance, 
but to the common weaknesses and foibles of men 
he exercised the charity which "beareth all things, 



128 

believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all 
things." 

If his enemy were fallen and helpless, he was 
the first to reach forth his hand to raise him up. 
While his independent nature would never ask 
favors from an enemy, his magnanimous soul was 
ever ready to grant them. 

"Give to him that asketh, and from him that 
would borrow turn not thou away." He felt the 
force of this precept in its fullest and most unre- 
stricted sense. It was a law, the literal fulfillment 
of which was essential to the obligations of the 
common brotherhood of the race. The highest 
social well-being of man could not be secured 
without it. He lightened his own burdens by bear- 
ing those of others. The relief he afforded to the 
needy reflected its happy influence upon his own 
mind, and thus the enlarged benevolence of his 
nature contributed to that uniformly cheerful spirit 
which was so characteristic of the man. 

In his law-office in Macon he kept his fund for 
the poor in a drawer always near him. When 
asked by the indigent for help, he always re- 
sponded. He did not say, "Depart in peace, be 
ye warmed and filled," without giving them those 



129 

things which were needful for the body, as too 
many do. His tender sympathy for the sufferings 
of others would have given him no rest if he had 
thus violated a vital law of its being. A single 
incident which I heard related of him will illus- 
trate this excellent trait in his character. While a 
member of Cono-ress in Washingfton, he was stand- 
ing in the street one day conversing with another 
Representative, Avhen a poor little girl presented 
herself and asked for money to buy bread and 
medicines for her sick mother. Gov. Cobb said 
to his companion, "We have but litde to do this 
morning ; let us accompany this child to her mother's 
home and see what her necessities are." Follow- 
ing her, they passed from street to street and from 
lane to lane, till they were beyond the city limits, 
and coming to a poor hovel on the common, they 
entered; and there on a threadbare couch lay a 
woman, the impersonation of poverty, want and 
suffering. He emptied his purse of its last dollar, 
and left the woman amazed at the unparalleled 
generosity of the stranger. 

It is not surprising that he should have given 
her his last dollar when he witnessed her suffer- 
ings, but that he had a heart whose generosity 

I 



+ 



I30 

prompted him to go so far, to follow a poor little 
girl through so many by-ways, to see and relieve 
a stranger of whom he had never before heard, 
and of whom it was not probable he would ever 
hear again, were very unusual acts in a prominent 
politician. How very few do we find who are so 
deeply interested in relieving the poor! — ^whose 
hearts are so deeply touched by the cry of a 
stranger ! and who always gave freely and willingly 
to relieve their necessities ! Too many seek ex- 
cuses for not giving: he was always glad of an op- 
portunity to bestow his bounty on a needy object. 

"He that giveth to the poor lendeth to the 
Lord." Let us be careful not to confound this 
excellent virtue with religion, or to substitute the 
bestowment of alms for saving faith in the Mediator. 
Philanthropy is susceptible of very high develop- 
ment. It may be so refined that its sensitive 
nature is pained by the wants of others, so that it 
makes common cause with all known cases of 
suffering. One thus becomes, in all the better 
feelings of his nature, the brother of his race, 
and Is In sympathy with the great heart of frail 
humanity ; so that he is never happier than when 
"it goes well" with all around him; and in labor- 



131 

ing to produce this good result he promotes his 
own peace of mind. 

His domestic character was almost peerless. I 
will not enter the sacred precincts of the home- 
sanctuary, and there show you the revered hus- 
band and the honored father, but will speak a few 
words as to the character of that love which he 
bore to his children. It was greater than natural, 
and only less than Christian love. Too many 
parents seem to love their children only for time. 
Their parental love satisfies itself with supplying 
the wants of the present life, but forgets the soul's 
relations to the life to come. They exhaust their 
resources on worldly accomplishments exclusively, 
and without reference to their effects upon relig- 
ious character. They are trained for society, and 
taught with care the graces of mannerism and the 
policies of worldly success, without giving special 
heed to the higher principles which constitute cha- 
racter, and without inculcating motives which im- 
part virtue to noble actions. 

Our friend could not give to his children relig- 
ious training, for he did not profess to be religious ; 
this duty in its positive enforcement was left to her 
whose uniform example constantly said to them. 



132 

"This is the way — walk ye in it." But he carefully 
withheld every thought and word which in his 
opinion would discourage or hinder the Christian 
mother in this pious work. It was one of the 
troubles of his life that he could not with his views 
conscientiously lead the way for his children. He 
has been heard to say with tears that it would be 
his greatest happiness if he could, by becoming 
fully identified with the Church, give his unqualified 
endorsement of religion to his family. This un- 
usual display of pious affection by one who did not 
profess to be a Christian himself, is only to be 
explained by the deep moral lessons which were 
imparted to him in tender years, and which had 
grown with his growth and strengthened with his 
strength. These early impressions had produced 
in his own bosom struggles for a personal interest 
in the truths of Christianity, which became a source 
of perpetual anxiety to him. 

The greatest men are deficient without the gifts 
and graces imparted by the religion of Jesus 
Christ, the Mediator between God and man. The 
most excellent moral characters are wanting if 
this be absent. Without it, jealousy made Saul 
a murderer; ambition made Bonaparte a heartless 



^33 

despoiler of nations ; and vanity dwarfed Voltaire 
into contemptible littleness. But with it, Luther, 
the obscure monk, shook the Vatican to its centre, 
and filled the world with hope of release from 
spiritual vassalage and superstition. He rose to 
the most exalted heights of moral heroism, and 
left free to the gaze of an anxious world the 
open pages of the hitherto sealed Book. With it, 
Daniel, for a time, dissipated the dark gloom that 
had so long rested, as a pall of moral night upon 
the Babylonish empire. 

Without it, how sadly incomplete would be the 
character of our honored friend ! — how deeply mel- 
ancholy would be this occasion ! But now a light 
springs up and the darkness disappears. 

As his pastor, I claim the privilege of stating 
some facts as to the religious character of Gov. 
Cobb. 

The obstacle which for a series of years opposed 
itself to his religious advancement was serious, and 
for the time fatal. It was this : He did not believe 
in the divinity of Jesus Christ ; the divine in the 
human he did not comprehend, and not compre- 
hending would not believe. He was not accus- 
tomed to accept what he did not understand, and 

12- 



^34 

this mystery was beyond the power of human 
intellect. I had frequent interviews with him, and 
can almost quote his exact words on this subject. 

" I am not an infidel," he said, " I abhor the vei*y 
name. I believe the Bible is a divinely-inspired 
book. Its precepts are of God. How could I 
believe otherwise when its moral influence is so 
good ? I have often known bad men made good 
by becoming Christians, but never knew a good 
man made worse by being religious. If its influ- 
ence is so universally good, then, sir, it commands 
the unqualified approval of my mind. I wish I 
could believe. Nothing would afford me so much 
pleasure as to be a member of the Church, and 
give to my children the benefit of a religious 
example. I go to your church, and I worship 
with you. When you praise God, my heart too 
unites in grateful emotions. When you pray, I 
join in the supplication ; but when you worship 
Jesus Christ, my best efforts to follow you utterly 
fail. I regret this fact more than any one else 
possibly can, but I cannot help it. I would not 
discourage my wife in her religious views and 
enjoyments, nor would I throw the least obstacle 
in the way of my children, for I want them all to 



135 

be religious. I have therefore carefully kept my 
doubts from every member of my family." 

He was so anxious to overcome his doubts, and 
embrace conscientiously the faith and hope of the 
Christian ; he was so fixed in his attention to the 
preaching of the gospel ; he was so uniform in 
his attendance upon divine worship ; and so deep 
was the interest with which he conversed on the 
subject of personal religion, that I was led to hope 
he had experienced regeneration by the Holy 
Spirit. More than two years ago I expressed to 
him this hope, and giving him some portions of 
Scripture to read, begged him at his leisure care- 
fully to examine himself by them. In a few months 
he informed me that, according to the evidences 
of regeneration as expressed in the First Epistle 
of John, he was unconverted. 

The anxiety which he felt continued to increase, 
until his solicitude led him freely to converse with 
such intelligent friends as he believed to be pious. 
On this subject he spoke from the deep earnest- 
ness of a feeling heart. He would not mention 
his doubts where he thought they would in any 
wise disturb the faith of a Christian, or afford a 
subterfuge for a worldly spirit, but he told them 



136 

only to such as were established in the truth, and 
to such as he thought might be able to assist in 
their removal. 

A highly-valued friend of his, now living in 
Augusta, appreciating his difficulties, and fully sym- 
pathizing with him in his troubles, placed in his 
hands a small volume called "The Christ of His- 
tory," This he read with unusual interest. The 
line of argument adopted by its author produced 
a new train of thought in his mind. The divine 
humanity was not a problem to be solved by the 
intellect, but an inspired and revealed truth to be 
received upon faith. Christ was not the end of 
the law for righteousness to those who undej'stand, 
but to those who believe. Religion is not an ab- 
stract theory, which speculative minds may accept 
or reject according to their own caprices. It is a 
great moral and spiritual force, to be felt in the 
heart and to be experienced in the life. The 
divinity of Christ involves the veracity of God ; 
then the only question to be decided is this : " Is 
God manifest in the flesh revealed ?" If so, it must 
be beheved or God pronounced untrue. With 
such views as these, and with a heart deeply im- 
pressed with the infinite importance of the subject 



137 

under investigation, and with earnest prayer for 
the Divine guidance, Gov. Cobb came directly to 
the Book of God for instruction. So deeply were 
his mind and heart imbued with the transcendent 
magnitude to his own soul of the interest involved 
that in four days and nights he read with care the 
writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. While 
his mind grasped the divine testimony here given 
to the exclusion of all doubts, his heart yielded 
grateful homage to the "One Mediator between 
God and man, the man Christ Jesus." 

Bear with me while I give you the particulars 
of the last private interview I ever enjoyed with 
him. It occurred the Sabbath after the change 
above alluded to. 

In reply to a question I had just asked him, 
he said, 

"I accept Jesus Christ as divine, as the anointed 
Saviour of man. My doubts on this subject have 
all gone." 

"General," said I, "do you trust him as your 
Saviour?" 

" I do sir," said he. 

"Do you give to him," said I, "the adoring 
reverence, the worship of your heart f 

12* 



138 

" I do," said he, with great emphasis. 

"Then do you contemplate him with heartfelt 
lovef said I. For a moment his emotions pre- 
vented utterance, and then, with deep feeling, he 
replied, 

" I do, sir." 

I advanced toward him with extended hand, 
which he grasped. I said to him, 

"I welcome you into the spiritual family of my 
Father, and greet you as a brother." His tears 
flowed freely while his expression was full of joy. 
I proposed a prayer of thanksgiving. We both 
knelt, and at the close of the devotion, his A?}ien 
was audible and emphatic. Turning to me and 
remaining on his feet, he said, with eyes frequently 
overflowing with tears as he spoke : 

" For fifteen years I have been painfully anxious 
about my spiritual condition. Not a day of that 
time has passed without prayer. Sometimes I have 
been almost in despair, but now, sir, I am relieved. 
The burden has gone from my heart, and I enjoy 
the quiet and peace of one who reposes for safety 
on the strength and grace of the Son of God." I 
was deeply impressed with his unction and earnest- 
ness. He continued the conversation with ereat 



^29 

animation for a half hour longer, manifesting the 
holy fervor of a newly-regenerated soul. 

Now, my congregation, having heard the reasons 
upon which I base my hope that our friend was in 
the exercise of saving faith, you will sympathize 
with me in the pious expectation of meeting him 
where "the wicked cease from troubling and the 
weary are at rest." Let us rejoice in his gain, 
and while we mourn our loss, we will not forget 
the divine admonition, "Be ye also ready, for in 
such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man 
cometh." 

The Rev. J. S. Key, D. D., pastor of the Mul- 
berry Street Methodist Church, Macon, Georgia, 
then arose and addressed the audience for about 
half an hour. His line of thought lay In the special 
providences of God which seemed to lead to Gen. 
Cobb's conversion. 

He spoke with much feeling, and narrated facts 
and Incidents which had come to his knowledge In 
a long and intimate association with Gen. Cobb. 

Funeral Address of Dr. J. S. Key. 

I am sure you will pardon me dear friends, if 
I should seem to violate the proprieties of this 



140 

solemn, sacred hour. Bear with me if I should 
depart from the order of exercises to which we 
have been accustomed on such occasions. 

Perhaps some may think that it were wiser and 
more appropriate that we should gather in this 
venerable hall, and surrounding with reverend 
silence these mortal remains, surrender our hearts 
to the memories of the past and the inspirations 
of the present ; but I owe a debt to duty and to 
God — to the living and the dead — a debt urgent 
and unavoidable, and that must be discharged just 
now. My silence would be treachery both to God 
and my friend. 

I pray you understand me now. I come to the 
discharge of this duty solely as a minister of God. 
To other and fitter hands will be assigned the 
office of eulogium. To history and posterity are 
already committed the record of public services, 
the name and fame of the illustrious dead. To 
me and to these my reverend associates has been 
confided the priesthood of the altar ; and we stand 
by this altar to-day, in the presence of this most 
appalling and heart-rending dispensation, to ex- 
pound and explain — to pronounce the few sad, 
solemn words, " dust to dust, ashes to ashes ;" and. 



141 

standing thus, we Implore the Infinite Ruler that 
he would shed over the gloom of this scene the 
light of immortal hope. 

My heart is greatly relieved by the scriptural 
persuasion that "the Lord is with us;" and I bring 
to you the solid comforts and the sublime hopes 
of the Divine presence. The only solution of the 
perplexing problems of human experience and the 
only true peace are to be found in the assurance 
of an overruling, special, divine Providence. You 
must not separate God from the individual life and 
experience. He is "all and in all." He is seeking 
by all means to impress himself upon all that he 
has made. He is speaking to us, coming very 
near, unfolding himself, laboring to communicate 
himself to his children. Aye more, God Almighty 
is in the forefront of nations and communities and 
individuals, guiding, shaping and directing. 

And now I bring you the consolations contained 
in the doctrine of the divine Fatherhood. You 
and I and all his children are ever in the mind 
and borne on the heart of our Father, God. The 
gift of his Son to suffer and to die was the ex- 
pression of a Father's yearning love for imperiled 
children. The mission of the Holy Ghost is the 



142 

putting forth of divine effort to lead the prodigal 
wanderers back to their abandoned home. And 
Providence itself is but the arrangement and sha- 
ping of the events of our life so as the more 
effectually to secure the return and safety of his 
children. Ah ! here is the great fault of our lives 
and the great mistake of our judgment — that we 
see God so rarely and realize so little of his 
working. 

Never in my life has this view of divine provi- 
dence been so clearly illustrated, and so impress- 
ively presented as by the closing years and months 
of the life of the illustrious dead. 

Dear sorrowing friends, you knew him not — 
friend as he was, loved and prized. You looked 
into that sunlit face ; you felt the generous grasp 
of that ever-open hand ; you hung upon the tones 
of that magic voice, and yet you understood him 
not. There was a department of his life of which 
you had no knowledge — a chapter of his daily 
experience read only by a few ; and that was the 
department in which God was laboring to win and 
to save him. It was my valued privilege to be 
familiar with his heart, and to receive from his 
own lips from time to time the assurance of the 



H3 

perpetual working of this most gracious provi- 
dence. 

Bear with me now as I unfold it to you. 

As my honored brother has told you, about 
fifteen years ago, in this city, as the great states- 
man stood by the dying couch of his venerable 
sire and received his dying benediction, God's 
Spirit smote him to the heart. He has been fre- 
quently heard to say that the first great conviction 
of his spiritual life was received in that solemn 
hour. It was God's time and God's chosen means. 
The dying patriarch had been an illustrious Chris- 
tian character. The son, while neither professing 
nor practicing the piety of the father, had learned 
to love the purity of his heart and the beauty of 
his life ; and venerated him all the more because 
in him he had an illustration of what grace could 
accomplish In fallen humanity. The death of such 
a man, and such a death as his, was both con- 
vincing and convicting. Calmly, without fear and 
triumphantly, he closed his life, testifying to the 
last, bearing witness to the truth. All hearts were 
moved, and our honored friend went forth with his 
heart pierced by the arrow of conviction. 

Subsequent to that event, and but a few years 



144 

ago, the untimely death of a brother upon whom 
his heart was set aroused afresh his convictions 
and turned his thoughts with renewed concern to 
the subject of death and the preparation for it. 
Now it is that we begin to see God engaged, com- 
bining and harnessing providential events as so 
many agencies working together for the salvation 
of a soul. What influences more promising of 
success than those employed ! — the veneration of a 
son for a pious father, and the love of a brother 
for a brother whose Christian character was com- 
manding ! The object aimed at was accomplished. 
He could not gainsay the testimony of such wit- 
nesses. He dare not deny the truth of the re- 
ligion which they illustrated and adorned. And 
with all the aspirations of his heart he yearned for 
a character and life similar to theirs. Now it was 
that he turned to the reading of the Scriptures 
with so much concern — a practice that he continued 
with increasing interest to the day of his death. 
But now, too, it was that his great life-struggle 
began. You have heard of his lifelong misgiving 
of the Godhead of Christ. It rose upon him with 
most distracting and paralyzing power. In Christ 
alone was there offered any hope of pardon and 



145 

peace; "There is no other name given under 
heaven among men whereby we must be saved," 
and yet on this only Saviour he could not rest, 
for he could not recognize him as divine. Oh the 
doubts, the distraction, the terror that tormented 
him! 

But God never lost him ; and through all these 
years of turmoil and strife — these years of wasting 
and desolation — his spirit was looking to God, and 
his praying was incessant. For the most part he 
bore this terrible burden alone. He feared to 
make it public. He shrank from being regarded 
a scoffer, for in his secret soul he believed religion 
true, and longed to put it on and wear it. The 
love he bore his family kept a seal upon his lips, 
lest his children might inherit his doubts, and with 
-them his grief and struggle. To only a few sym- 
pathizing friends, and to them only in the most 
sacred confidence, did he disclose his difficulties. 
It was wise ; and even in this silence we see the 
guiding of the hand of God. It kept his heart 
sealed to all but an ever-loving Father. 

I well remember the relation that he gave me of 
his impressions and convictions on one occasion 
while stationed in Florida during the recent war. 

13 K 



146 

It was his habit to attend regularly on the Sabbath 
services in the sanctuary. On the occasion re- 
ferred to the supper of the Lord was spread and 
the followers of Christ invited to partake. One 
by one, friends and acquaintances and various 
members of his staff left him and approached the 
place of communion, until he was wellnigh left 
alone sitting in his pew. Now again the spirit 
of conviction r^evisited him. The memory of the 
sainted dead revived. The knowledge that part 
of his family were constant communicants, from all 
of whom he was separated, aroused him afresh, 
and he trembled in his seat. Never shall I forget 
the earnestness with which he said to me, 

"Sir, never dismiss a congregation when you 
administer the holy sacrament. It is the most 
powerful preaching that you can furnish." 

I cannot trace all the course of the divine deal- 
ing. Let me hurriedly group the closing acts. 
The bitter disappointments of the war — the wreck 
of fortunes — the blight of hopes — the chaos of the 
present and the apprehensions of the future — were 
all made tributary to the spiritual purposes of God. 
From all these his heart turned to find the only 
rest and satisfaction. He turned to God with 



prayer and Scripture-reading. Who will doubt the 
providence that spared him through the perils of 
the war and the disasters and depressions that 
followed it? Who can doubt the mission of that 
bosom-friend — their communions — and the giving 
of that volume which seemed to be God's final 
stroke in opening his heart to the entrance of the 
truth? See how busy he was — how frequent his 
conversations with ministers and pious friends ! 
Oh it was God invisible, yet laying hold upon 
him and hurrying him to secure a preparation for 
that end so rapidly approaching. There was no 
premonition or presentiment of death, and yet he 
seemed to work as though he had it in his eye. 

My last interview with my distinguished friend 
was memorable, and should be mentioned on this 
occasion. After giving most minutely a statement 
of his change of mind, together with the agencies 
employed to effect it, he made special mention of 
his change of feelings, and expressed his surprise 
with great emphasis that whereas all his life through 
he had carried a horror of death, he could now 
look on the grave and think of the dying hour with 
comparative satisfaction. Surely it was a change 
wrought by grace, for the fear of death is only 



148 

destroyed by divine grace. After hearing this con- 
vincing testimony of his change of nature, I in- 
sisted that he owed to God, his family and himself 
the obligation to connect himself formally and 
publicly with the Church. He seemed not to be 
taken unawares; but promptly, as if the whole 
subject had been canvassed and settled, replied, 

" My family are absent. They will not return 
until the Fall. I prefer to connect myself with the 
Baptist church of this city (Macon, Georgia), as 
my wife's membership is here ; and when she re- 
turns I will most assuredly become a member." 

He was not permitted to consummate his purpose, 
" God having provided some better thing for him." 
He whose eye had followed him, and whose hand 
had guided him, found him ready and took him. 
Let us rest in hope. 

The Rev. Mr. Wm. Flinn, pastor of the Presby- 
terian church in Milledgeville, and formerly chap- 
lain of Gen. Cobb's command, followed Dr. Key 
in an affectionate and interestino- discourse, in 
which he sought to make manifest the kindliness 
of heart and true nobility of his former com- 
mander. 



149 



Address of Rev. Wm. Flinn. 

This is no mere formal or hollow ceremonial 
which we are enacting ; nor is it simply in obedi- 
ence to the call of affection that we are here. We 
are engaged in the performance of a high and 
solemn duty. It devolves upon the living to re- 
cord and commemorate the virtues of the noble 
and good who have gone from us. To neglect 
this would be to wrong both the living and the 
dead. It would be to withhold from the living 
the stimulus to virtue and goodness which noble 
examples furnish ; and it would be to rob the dead 
of that which is their justest due. "The memory 
of the just is blest, but the name of the wicked 
shall rot." The fond hope of leaving behind us 
a memory which the good will cherish and bless is 
one of the highest motives to well-doing. Our 
name is, of all our possessions, most peculiarly our 
own, because it is of our own creation ; and it is 
of all others the most precious, because it only is 
imperishable. Death strips us of all besides ; this 
only remains, a part, and the best part, of oui 
immortal selves. Hence, A good natne is 7^ather to 
be chosen than great riches, and loving favor than 

13* 



ISO 

silver and gold. For at the last general assize, 
when God, our Maker and our Judge, shall render 
with impartial justice to every man according to 
his works, the prize of eternal life in His presence 
shall be awarded only to those who in this life 
made the attainment of immortal glory and honor 
their aim, and sought it by patient continuance in 
well-doing. 

To honor, therefore, the memory of the good 
with appropriate ceremonies is to discharge the 
obligations of a sacred duty. It is to subserve the 
cause of virtue and truth, and to promote the 
highest interests of mankind. We thus gather up 
the virtues of those who have finished their course 
and treasure them away as sacred relics, which 
may serve as incentives to those who come after. 
Good men, though dead, are thus enabled still to 
speak. These solemnities to-day give voice and 
utterance to the virtues of our noble friend and 
fellow-citizen, whose eloquent lips are now sealed 
in death. May it serve to awaken in the heart of 
many a young man here present the resolve to 
emulate his virtues ! 

Seldom in a degenerate age is the opportunity 
afforded us of holding up for commendation, with 



so little qualification or reserve, the character of a 
public man as it is our privilege to do to-day. I 
do not say that the character of Gov. Cobb was 
without fault or blemish. That would be to deny 
that he was human, and would pass for the ex- 
aggeration of personal friendship, or, what is worse, 
for flattery. Doubtless he had his faults, but I 
leave it to those who take pleasure in such things 
to search them out and set them forth. We have, 
in common, the sad inheritance of a depraved 
nature. The most that the best men can do is to 
war resolutely against all that is weak or selfish or 
sinful within them, and hold it in check, while they 
foster and strengthen and exercise that which is 
noble and good and true, and secure, if possible, 
for these better principles the habitual control. 
The trophies which each one wins must be mea- 
sured by his success in this warfare. Of our 
honored friend I state that which will be conceded 
by all who knew him — that, measured by this rule, 
he was entitled to no common distinction. 

Gifted with powers such as are bestowed upon 
but comparatively few men, he neither buried them 
in ignoble indolence and ease, nor prostituted them 
to the service of a narrow and selfish ambition, 



152 

but he faithfully used them in the service of his 
country. Most of his life was spent in the public 
service, in obedience to the call of his fellow-citi- 
zens ; and of the distinguished ability and fidelity 
with which he discharged his trust I need not 
speak. 

His death is felt to be a public calamity, and it is 
appropriate that all classes should meet and mingle 
their tears at his tomb. Our country feels deeply 
his loss in this her hour of darkness. His far- 
reaching, comprehensive views as a statesman ; 
his sound judgment ; his wisdom and prudence in 
counsel ; his noble, conciliatory spirit and true mag- 
nanimity ; his steady, unflinching fortitude in main- 
taining the cause of truth and right; his cheerful 
patience under the burdens of our common calami- 
ties, — all united to make him a leader to whom we 
looked up ; and now that he is gone it is as if a 
great light had been extinguished, and the world 
has grown darker and the gloom around us has 
gathered thicker in consequence. 

In his death the poor have lost a friend. The 
tears of many a widow and fatherless child will 
flow freely and bitterly when they listen to the 
announcement of his death ; and the blessing of 



153 

him that was ready to perish, relieved by his hand, 
shall rest upon his memory. His kindness to the 
poor was generous and catholic and, in general, 
did not stop to regard character or color. If the 
applicant was in want, he inquired no farther, but 
promptly relieved him. I have in my mind's eye 
at this moment an aged and helpless negro woman, 
formerly his slave, who since her freedom has been 
indebted to his indulgent kindness for a neat and 
comfortable home and a liberal supply for all her 
wants. It was his habit, when called by business 
to Milledgeville, where she lives, to visit her, in- 
quire kindly into her affairs and see that she was 
in need of nothing. On his last visit to her I 
accompanied him, and was an eye-witness to his 
generous care of one who could not possibly make 
him any return.* 

* Old Aunt Jenny Lamar, an original African, died last week at probably 
about ninety years of age. She was a servant of Col, Zach. Lamar, who, in 
his will, in consideration of her kindness to his family, gave her a house and 
lot in this city, and required that his daughter, Mrs. Gen. Cobb, should sup- 
port her as long as she lived, and exact no service of her. The wishes of 
her master were faithfully carried out, and she lived, for more than thirty 
years, at the home thus provided for her, where her wants were supplied 
and a girl kept to wait on her. She was a good, Christian woman, and white 
and black entertained for her the kindest k&\\x\g.— Milledgeville {Ga.) paper, 
July, 1S69. 



154 

The Church will feel his loss. When our blessed 
Lord was on eardi he was once approached by 
the elders of the Jews in behalf of a Roman 
centurion who desired a favor. When they came 
to Jesus they besought him instantly, saying, That 
he was worthy for whom He should do this : for he 
loveth our nation and hath built us a synagogue. 
So Gov. Cobb, though not a member of the Church 
by formal profession, or by the reception of the 
sealing ordinances of our holy religion, yet was a 
friend to the Church. He habitually exhibited a 
profound respect for all that pertained to our 
Christianity. He was a constant attendant upon 
the preaching of the gospel, a liberal and cheerful 
contributor to the support of its ministry, and an 
earnest student of its profoundest mysteries. The 
ministers of religion found in him a generous friend. 
He honored them for the Master's sake, and he 
gave much more than the cup of cold water to 
relieve their wants. Their wants were relieved 
and their hearts made glad by his liberal bounty, 
bestowed with inimitable delicacy. 

Indulge me while I speak something from per- 
sonal recollection of my honored and cherished 
friend. I knew him well. I was associated with 



^5S 

him intimately under circumstances of peculiar trial. 
I was his chaplain and messmate in the army, I 
saw him and conversed with him daily in all the 
unrestrained intimacy of confiding friendship. We 
exchanged views on almost every subject which 
could interest the human mind. I may claim there- 
fore to know him, if one man can know another — 
to know his sentiments and principles and habits. 
And I utter what I now say in all solemnity : I do 
not recollect ever to have heard him utter a senti- 
ment which was dishonorable. I never saw him 
do an act to any human being which I thought 
unjust or even unkind. I never knew him to 
neglect an opportunity of doing a kindness, for it 
seemed to be the natural impulse of his heart. I 
never heard him utter a word of bitterness in re- 
sentment for what he considered a personal wrong. 
I know that he did utter words of withering bitter- 
ness sometimes, but they were directed against 
what he considered falsehood, duplicity or mean- 
ness ; they were not in resentment of personal 
offences. Magnanimous, truthful, frank and gener- 
ous in every impulse of his nature, he scorned 
and loathed their opposites in others, and he de- 
nounced them with all the fervor of his warm 



^56 

heart. It affords me pleasure to be able to bear 
this testimony to this noble characteristic of that 
good man. Indeed, in my great admiration of his 
character and my warm affection for the man, I 
used to say of him in my heart, making due allow- 
ance for the infirmities of our common nature, Oiie 
thing only thou lackest. And it gave me a joy 
which I cannot utter when I learned that, by the 
sovereign grace of God, that one thing had been 
supplied, and that he had been led by a humble, 
simple faith to lay hold of that hope which is set 
before us in the gospel. 

But it has pleased God in his wisdom to take 
him away from us. We must now bear his 
honored remains, and deposit them, with sorrowing 
hearts and tearful eyes, in the house appointed for 
all living. And then we must turn away with the 
mournful conviction that we shall see his face no 
more and not again hear his voice on earth. But 
we confidently hope to meet fiim in a better land, 
and amid brighter scenes. 

Let this be our comfort for the present. 

[The following interesting address was prepared 
for the funeral occasion of Gov. Cobb by Dr. 
Brantly, formerly Professor of Belles Lettres and 



157 

Oratory In the University of Georgia, who, in com- 
mon with the other clergy^men, had been invited to 
officiate ; but the length of time to which the exer- 
cises had been prolonged precluded its delivery. 
It was, however, procured by the editor of this 
volume, and he publishes it as a part of the pro- 
ceedings, believine that it will add to the interest 
of these records.] 

Address of Rev. Wm. T. Brantly, D. D. 

My brethren to whom you have just listened 
have enlarged in fitting terms on the virtues and 
services of our friend whose remains are in the 
coffin before us. Whilst we mourn that his noble 
intellect has suffered the eclipse of death, it is 
grateful to remember that its active powers once 
adorned those eminent positions which his country- 
men called him to fill in his own State, in the halls 
of our National Councils, in the Cabinet and In the 
Field. It Is interesting, too, to hear of those deeds 
of generosity and philanthropy to which he was 
moved by a heart in earnest sympathy with his 
species. Above all. It is good to be assured that 
the spirit which has gone to God who gave It, has 
departed clothed In that spotless robe without 

14 



1S8 

which no fallen being can appear acceptably before 
his Maker. 

But whilst we eulogize our departed brother, 
our solicitude should be awakened lest this afflic- 
tive occurrence be without practical benefit to 
those by whom he was esteemed and loved. If 
we fail to ponder the lesson of our own mortality, 
and to consider the importance of habitual prepara- 
tion for that solemn event which is inevitable, and 
which may confront us "in such an hour as we 
think not," then, so far as we are concerned, his 
death will be a vanity. The associations of this 
place combine with the mournful dispensation which 
has convened us to-day to speak with unwonted 
emphasis of the necessity of being ready for that 
summons to which we must all respond. General 
Cobb was for more than twenty-five years a Trustee 
of this University. As I recur to the public occa- 
sions when I have seen him sitting on this rostrum 
from which I now address you, I am reminded of 
the manly forms which once, with his, occupied 
these seats, and who with him have taken their 
places in the silent halls of death. Each speaks, 
though dead, and announces the mortality of those 
who survive. Of the twenty-eight gentlemen who 



159 

constituted the Board of Trustees of the College 
at the time of Gen. Cobb's election, but seven 
remain; and some of these are so aged and feeble 
that it is manifest their departure from earth can- 
not be long postponed. A fifth of a century has 
just passed since I became officially connected 
with this College. In this period I have seen more 
than twenty of those who were at different times 
associated with our friend in guarding the Interests 
of the Institution, disappear from the ranks of the 
living. What an impressive illustration of the 
vanity of human life ! 

The very last time I had occasion to speak In 
this chapel was In response to an Invitation to 
commemorate the life and services of one who, 
whilst he was a member of this Board, dignified the 
ermine of the highest judicial position In th^ State. 
Not many years before his removal the Board was 
bereaved by the loss of that patriotic and gallant 
son of the State who fell on the hotly-contested 
field of Sharpsburg. Though but a brother by 
marriage, Lamar was. In tenderness and devotion, 
all that a brother according to the flesh could be 
to him for whom we are this day mourning. Only 
a few months prior to this painful casualty, Georgia 



i6o 

had mourned the loss of that Christian soldier and 
self-sacrificing patriot, the younger Cobb, who in 
the very hour of a victory largely won by his own 
gallant band, yielded up his life on the bloody 
slopes of Fredericksburg. 

As I unroll the records of the score of years to 
which I have referred, other forms familiar and 
beloved present themselves. I see the lamented 
Harden, who for more than a third of a century 
was a faithful sentinel over the interests of this 
University, beginning his services at a time of the 
utmost depression, and continuing them until the 
efforts of himself and his colleaofues were crowned 
with large success ; I see Berrien, whose golden- 
mouthed oratory made him the very Chrysostom of 
the Bar and of the Senate, whilst his dignified 
carriage was worthy of a Roman Senate in the 
palmiest days of its history ; and Harris, who for 
a protracted period gave to the Board the benefit 
of his sagacious counsels, cherishing this College 
with a paternal devotion, and rejoicing in its suc- 
cess as he would exult over the prosperity of his 
own child ; and Towns, the constant friend and 
genial companion, for four years Chief Magistrate 
of Georgia, but cut down in the very prime of his 



i6i 

manhood ; and Fort, so long the ornament of the 
Medical profession of the State, winning the confi- 
dence and the love of all who were so fortunate as 
to know him ; and Gilmer, also honored with the 
highest office which the people of his adopted 
State could confer upon him ; and Schley, holding 
successively the offices of Judge, Congressman and 
Governor — a man who was ever ready to " swear to 
his own hurt and change not," one before whose 
honest eye deceit and fraud retired abashed ; and 
Hamilton, faithfully and freely bestowing upon the 
College those prudent counsels by which he had 
achieved such distinguished success in the enter- 
prises of business to which his life was devoted ; 
and McDonald, of whom, though a kinsman, I may 
be permitted to say a more honest and unselfish 
politician, a purer patriot and a more judicious 
adviser is not found in the long list of Georgia's 
gifted and illustrious sons. On this record appears 
the name still further of Dawson, always cordial, 
always popular, with malice for none, with a kind 
word for all, filling with distinction the high posi- 
tions to which he was called in the councils of the 
State and country ; and Mercer, sustaining with 
becoming dignity the reputation of a great and 

14* L 



l62 

good name ; and Wayne, who for a full half centur}' 
was connected with this Board — at the time of his 
decease the oldest member, and its only Repre- 
sentative in the Supreme Court of the Republic ; 
and WiNGFiELD — the amiable, gentle, hospitable, 
courteous Wingfield — whose politeness was in his 
day a proverb, because his heart overflowed with 
the milk of human kindness. I have seen all these 
names stricken from the roll by the unsparing 
hand of the ruthless Effacer. As each one has 
passed away he has but increased the already 
"great cloud of witnesses" to the grand fact of 
our mortality. 

Nor do I forget at this time those colleagues of 
the departed Cobb who, like himself, were removed 
instantaneously from earthly scenes. I recall now 
the ingenuous countenance, the noble brow of the 
gifted Dougherty, who, at nearly the same age and 
by the same disease, was swept away in the full 
tide of health — hurried from the manly sports of 
the field in which at the time he was indulging. 
Elliot, too, occurs to my mind. How often have 
I seen his imperial form on this stage ! Majestic 
in person, vigorous and well-balanced in intellect, 
truly pious and catholic in spirit, he seemed to be 



1 63 

one foreordained to hold eminent position in the 
Church of Christ. But his gifts nor his graces 
could delay the approach of the inexorable Sum- 
moner. He returned to his home from a parochial 
visitation but to hear the call which transferred 
him in a moment from the Church militant to the 
Church triumphant. Well, too, do I remember 
Hull. How sudden his dismissal from the body ! 
Like Wayne, he was for full fifty years connected 
with this Board ; and during this entire period he 
was, as an officer and a man, the very embodiment 
of fidelity and integrity. Having finished the morn- 
ing devotions of the family, he awaited, with the 
open Bible before him, the summons to the morn- 
ing repast. When addressed he returned no re- 
sponse. The breakfast lay untasted on the table, 
whilst he went to enjoy the feast which the Saviour 
in whom he trusted had prepared for him in the 
realms of the blest. He departed, leaving that 
" good name which is better than precious ointment, 
and more to be chosen than great riches." Nor 
must I omit from the necrology of the period 
under review the name of him who for so many 
years presided over the meetings of this Board 
and over the University. My nearest neighbor 



164 

and constant associate for eight years, I knew him 
well. So long as a conscientious devotion to duty, 
disdaining all ease and self-indulgence in the pres- 
ence of its claims, can entitle a man to the com- 
mendation of his fellow-citizens, so long as a cour- 
age which knew no blenching in the presence of 
difficulties however formidable can awaken admira- 
tion, so long as piety, simple, earnest, uniform, 
deserves to be eulogized, the name of Alonzo 
Church should be cherished by those to whom he 
devoted the best efforts of his intellect and the 
warmest affections of his heart. 

And now to this constantly-growing catalogue 
of the dead we add the name of the elder Cobb. 
He too is smitten down full of honors, though 
not full of years. He was as yet in the full vigor 
of his manhood, and it was fondly hoped that he 
might live for many years to bless the country 
with his matured experience and his patriotic 
counsels. But he had reached the "appointed, 
bounds." He feels the icy touch of the Destroyer 
upon his vitals ; in an instant consciousness de- 
parts, and almost with the unfinished sentence 
upon his lips " the wind passes over him and he is 
gone." Oh ! as we look around and see other 



i65 

occupants of these seats, where we have so often 
greeted the honored curators of this University, 
we cannot repress the exclamation of the royal 
Psalmist : " Our days on the earth are as a shadow, 
and there is none abiding." Exposed as we all 
are to the remorseless scythe of that enemy before 
whom so many "tall and wise and reverend heads" 
have fallen, how important is it to clothe ourselves 
with that panoply by which we may be assured of 
triumph in the conflict. Thank God, that victory is 
possible ! Blessed be his Name, that with faith in 
him we can respond to the citation which calls us 
from earth, not 

" Like the quarry slave forced to his dungeon, 
But like one that wraps the drapery of his couch about him 
And lies down to pleasant dreams." 

If we are roused by the providence which converts 
this chapel into a house of mourning to consider 
our own mortality with something of that serious- 
ness which the subject demands, the occasion, 
though afflictive, will be salutary. We shall thus 
confirm the declaration of the wise man, that " it is 
better to go to the house of mourning than to the 
house of feasting ; for that Is the end of all men, 
and the living will lay it to his heart." 



i66 
Dr. Brantly offered the following 

Prayer. 

Father of our spirits and Framer of our bodies ! 
We desire to recognize thee in the dispensation 
which fills our hearts with sorrow and our eyes 
with tears to-day. "Before the mountains were 
broueht forth, or ever thou hadst formed the 
earth and the world, even from everlasting to 
everlasting thou art God." "Thou turnest man 
to destruction and sayest, Return, ye children of 
men." Thou dost breathe into our nostrils the 
breath of life. Thou dost cause these hearts to 
throb and these lungs to heave and play; and 
when thou dost order it, they are silent and still. 
At thy command we die and return to dust. "As 
for us, O God, our days are as grass ; as flowers 
of the field, so we flourish; for the wind passes 
over us and we are gone ; and the places thereof 
shall know us no more." But we do praise thee 
that though we are changing and dying, thou art 
the same and thy years shall never fail. We thank 
thee that thou dost invite us to look away from the 
corruption and gloom of death, assured that they 
who trust in thee can never die. Thou art show- 



167 

ing us to-day that " there is but a step between us 
and death" — that we "know not what a day may 
bring forth." We pray that we may all be aroused 
by this affecting illustration of the uncertainty of 
life to make without delay (if hitherto it has been 
neglected) that preparation which is necessary to 
a peaceful meeting with thee. 

We thank thee that we have reason to believe 
that the blow which fell so suddenly on our de- 
parted brother did not find him destitute of this 
preparation. We bless thee for the testimony 
which we have heard from successive witnesses 
that, being justified by faith, he possessed peace 
with thee. Holy Spirit, we praise thee that thou 
didst dissipate the blindness of unbelief and error, 
and didst bring him, though after a season of much 
anxiety and struggling and prayer, to rely on the 
Lamb's atoning blood. Glory to thy name, thou 
God of long-suffering and forbearance, that we are 
not left in ignorance concerning this one who is 
asleep, sorrowing as for one for whom there is 
no hope. 

And now, O Lord, let it please thee to hear us 
in behalf of the bereaved survivors. We desire 
especially to commend unto thee that one who is 



i68 

most deeply smitten by this visitation of thy hand. 
Look upon her in "her affliction and her pain." 
Thou seest how, even in the midst of fond and 
loving hearts, she feels alone in the world. Thou 
hast taken away "the desire of her eyes." Thou 
hast deprived her of the companion and husband 
of her youth ; and thou dost compel her to say in 
the deep poignancy of her grief, " Lover and friend 
hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance 
into darkness." O sympathizing Jesus, thou who 
didst weep with the mourning sisters at a brother's 
grave, extend to her thine own precious sympathies 
and succors. Fulfill in her experience the gracious 
promise that her strength shall be as her days. 
Help her to believe and to feel that the chastening 
now upon her, bitter, grievous though it be, is but 
a part of that discipline which a Saviour wise and 
merciful employs to educate his child for that place 
which he has gone before to prepare for her. Help 
her in the midst of her distress and anofuish to 
say, not only " the Lord gave and the Lord has 
taken away," but to add with the spirit of per- 
fect acquiescence, "blessed be the name of the 
Lord." 

Hear us for these sons and daughters who are 



169 

weeping together around the coffin of a loving and 
tender father. May they now, O God, find in thee 
a friend who can more than supply the place of the 
fondest earthly parent — who is willing to do, and 
who has promised to do for those who call on his 
name, more than earthly parents in the largest 
exercise of their affection can bestow. Hear us for 
these brothers and sisters who are made common 
mourners to-day. Though they can mingle no 
more In the scenes where they have so often met 
the beloved one for whom they mourn, may they 
be comforted with the hope of meeting again In 
that better land where the parting word Is never 
spoken and the parting tear Is never shed ! 

Give us all such a use of this event that we may 
earnestly seek to be ready for the Son of man 
whenever he may come ! 

Almighty God, we thank thee that though we 
now dwell In the land of the dying, there Is a land 
of the living — a place where there shall be no 
more suffering, nor sorrow, nor sin, nor death, nor 
mourning. Assist us to look away from this 
"tabernacle In which we now groan, being bur- 
dened, to the building of God, the house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Give 



15 



170 

us such faith, such consecration to thy service, that 
each one may say with thine ancient servant, " For 
me to Hve is Christ" — so that we may also say with 
him, "to die is gain." And to thy name. Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit, be the glory, world without 
end. Amen. 

The solemn funeral service was continued by 
Bishop Heber's beautiful hymn, " Thou art gone to 
the grave," which was read by Rev. F. H. Ivey, 
Pastor of the Athens (Georgia) Baptist Church. 

Farewell to a Friend Departed. 

Thou art gone to the grave ; but we will not deplore thee, 
Though sorrows and darkness encompass the tomb ; 

The Saviour has passed through its portals before thee, 
And the lamp of his love is thy guide through the gloom. 

Thou art gone to the grave ; we no longer behold thee. 
Nor tread the rough patha of the world by thy side ; 

But the wide arms of mercy ^re spread to enfold thee. 
And sinners may hope, sinfce the Saviour hath died. 



Thou art gone to the grave ;/and, its mansion forsaking, 
Perchance thy weak spirif in doubt lingered long ; 

But the sunshine of heaven beamed bright on thy waking. 
And the sound thou didst hear was the seraphim's song. 

Thou art gone to the gri\'e ; but we will not deplore thee, 
Since God was thy Ransom, thy Guardian, thy Guide ; 

He gave thee, he took thee, and he will restore thee ; 
And death has no sting since the Saviour hath died. 



171 

As the last sad notes of the hymn died away, 
the wreath-covered coffin was borne forth and 
transported to the cemetery, followed by thou- 
sands. There, surrounded by weeping friends and 
relatives, it was consigned to the tomb. 

Rev. E. W. Warren read a short selection from 
the Bible, and offered a brief, but solemn prayer, 
and then the grave closed upon all that was mortal 
of Howell Cobb. 

The sun was just sinking beneath the western 
horizon, and, as the large assembly slowly and 
sadly dispersed, the shades of evening gathered 
over the scene — fit emblem of the sadness which 
shrouded the spirits of all. 

Shortly after the funeral the following appeared 
in one of the journals of the State, and is given as 
a spontaneous exemplification of the feeling caused 
in Georgia by the death of Howell Cobb : 

One month ago, a mighty heart beat high, 
Tumultuous throbbings, rending to and fro, 
Alternate hope and fear, like lightning's stroke 
Upon a giant oak — he fell at morn; 
And as the winged messenger tjie tidings bore, 
How was the land he loved in mourning clad ! 
Georgia — the inspiration of his life and lips — 
Felt the deep wound in her sad mother-heart ; 
And as I saw him on her bosom laid, 



172 

After such tears upon his bier were shed . 

As man might^ovet, but not often claim ; 

And loving hearts forgot " the great man " there, 

To call him " friend and brother," and God's messengers 

Brought comfort for the living in his death. 

Because he had received " into his heart 

God's kingdom" — even " as a little child," 

And so " had entered in." After all these 

Kindly and sacred tributes to the dead, 

I saw the earth receive him, and I thought 

Could aught make her cold bosom throb with life, 

' Twos touch of patriot dust upon her soil ! 

But if unconscious of her precious charge, 

The river, where his boyish footsteps strayed 

Makes soothing murmur round his resting-place ; 

And trees that grew apace with his own growth 

Will shelter lovingly two sacred mounds 

Where brothers rest — " divided not in death" — 

Beneath the sunshine of fheir native land — 

Immortal brothers in each Southern heart ! 

Lines to the Memory of Gen. Cobb. 

BY E. B. C. 

Slow, loitering Time, 
Thou canst not cheat sweet memory of her debt ! 
No, no ! her loving hand upon us yet 
Is nestling. Bleeding hearts cannot forget 

Their thoughts sublime. 

Yes, wounded hearts. 
Your dark and ruined home before our eyes 
For ever is. The picture never dies ; 
But in the depths of sadden'd souls it lies, 

And ne'er departs. 



173 

The proudest son, 
The noblest, truest patriot Georgia bore, 
Our country's sinking ark can guide no more. 
He stands a glowing vision on that shore. 

His work well done ! 

Thou hast the power, 
O God, from out the foaming surge, the deep, 
The mad, the bitter waves to lead, and keep 
Within thy wing these trembling ones who weep 

And mourn that hour. 

Look down upon 
Thy blighted ones, O Father God, to-day, 
And in thy spirit clothe them that they may 
All see thy power — all love it — Lord, all say, 
" Thy will be done !" 
Macon, Georgia, 1869. 
15* 




■-^^ 



\ 



HONORS. 



The memory of the just is blessed. — Proverbs x. 7. 



I've scanned the actions of his daily life 

With all the industrious malice of a foe ; 

And nothing meets mine eye but deeds of honor. 

The honors of a name 'tis just to guard ; 
They are a trust but lent us, which we take, 
And should, in reverence to the donor's fame, 
With care transmit them down to other hands. 

Lives of all great men remind us 

We can make our lives sublime. 
And, departing, leave behind us 

Footprints on the sands of time — 
Footsteps, that perhaps another. 

Sailing o'er life's solemn main, 
A forlorn and shipwreck'd brother. 

Seeing, shall take heart again. 



IV. 



HONORS. 




HE following Is the action taken by the 
Bar of the United States Circuit Court 
for the Southern District of Georgia, 
when that Court was sitting in Savannah, in No- 
vember, 1868 : 

Resolutions of Respect for the Memory of the 
- late Hon. Howell Cobb. 

Savannah, November 6, 1868. 

In pursuance of the adjournment yesterday, the 
Bar of the United States Circuit Court for the 
Southern District of Georgia assembled in the 
Court-room this morning, at three-quarters past 
nine o'clock, Hon. E. A. Nisbet in the chair. 

The Committee of five appointed yesterday, 
through General A. R. Lawton, their Chairman, 
reported the following resolutions : 



M 



177 



178 

Resolved, That in the death of the Hon. Howell 
Cobb the State of Georgia has lost one of the 
ablest, purest and most patriotic of her citizens, 
who, as her Representative in the National Coun- 
cils, as her Chief Executive Magistrate, and in the 
high Cabinet position, exhibited a comprehensive 
grasp of intellect, an intuitive quickness of per- 
ception, and practical directness of thought which 
had enrolled his name among the most eminent 
American statesmen ; and who, by a long career 
of useful and self-devoting service, has enshrined 
his memory in the hearts of her people. 

Resolved, That in this afHicting dispensation of 
Providence, we mourn the loss of a professional 
brother, endowed with a rare capacity as a coun- 
selor and advocate ; of a companion and friend, the 
truthfulness, nobility and expansive sympathies of 
whose nature, and the vivacious play of whose 
intellect could not fail to endear him to all who 
knew him well, or to make him the radiating centre 
of the social circle. 

Resolved, That we respectfully tender to his be- 
loved family our sincerest sympathy and profound- 
est condolence in their sad bereavement. 

Resolved, That these proceedings be published 



179 

in the gazettes of this city, and a copy be furnished 
to the family of the deceased. 

The resolutions were unanimously adopted, and 
the meeting adjourned sine die. 

E. A. NisBET, Chairman. 

Wm. S. Basinger, Secretary. 

Proceedings of the Macon Bar. 
Life and Character of Howell Cobb. 

A few days subsequent to the death of Gov. 
Cobb, the Macon Bar, of which he was an honored 
member, convened and appointed a committee to 
prepare a suitable tribute to the memory of their 
distinguished brother. This task devolved upon 
Hon. E. A. NIsbet, chairman of the committee, 
and on the first of December, 1868, the Bibb 
County Superior Court being in session. Judge 
E. B. Cole presiding, the committee made its 
report. 

Hon. E. A. Nisbet, before reading the report, 
said : It has been my duty, during a long profess- 
ional life, to pay tribute to the memory^ of many 
deceased members of the Bar, but I have been 
called upon on no occasion more peculiar and sad- 
der than the present. There are circumstances in 



i8o 

relation to the death of Gen. Cobb which distinguish 
it from any other within my experience. His dis- 
tinction as a politician both before and since the 
war, his high grade as a lawyer, his amiable cha- 
racter and numerous social virtues, and the place 
and manner of his death, all combine to increase 
the solemnities of this occasion. He died sud- 
denly in the city of New York — the great theatre 
of events, of observation and excitement — with the 
eyes of the nation upon the melancholy event ; 
but, sir, inasmuch as it has been my duty, as chair- 
man of the committee, to sketch in outline the 
prominent traits of his character, I forbear, and 
shall content myself with reading the report of the 
committee, and adding that his life is a brilliant 
example for imitation, and his death an illustration 
of the beautiful teachings of the British poet — 

The boast of heraldr}', the pomp of power, 
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, 

Await alike the inevitable hour : 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave. 

The committee appointed to prepare a suitable 
tribute to the memory of the late Gen. Cobb, beg 
leave to submit the following : 

General Howell Cobb, being on a visit to the 



i8i 

North, with his wife and daughter, died in the city 
of New York, on the ninth day' of October last, 
at the age of fifty-three years. He was seized 
suddenly, was prostrated in a moment of time and 
expired in a few minutes thereafter. A man of 
vigorous constitution and, until very recently, in 
the enjoyment of uninterrupted health, no one 
had a fairer promise of long life ; and surrounded 
with numerous and devoted friends, and blessed 
with the sweetest and richest endearments of home 
and family, of a life of unmingled happiness. He 
was called hence without premonition. This provi- 
dence, to our limited vision, looks strange ; but 
we well know that it is not for us to sit in judg- 
ment upon the inscrutable events of the Divine 
government. We believe that the all-wise and all- 
merciful Ruler ordereth all things well, and, there- 
fore, it is our duty and privilege to acquiesce with- 
out a murmur in His dispensations. "Justice and 
judgment are the habitation of thy throne ; mercy 
and truth shall go before thy face." When the 
telegraph announced the death of our brother, 
thousands of people all over this broad land — and 
we among the number — felt that they had lost a 
loved and cherished personal friend. The country 

16 



l82 

was stricken with awe and tremulousness. Sad- 
ness and sorrow and deep regrets fell upon all 
who knew him. We may not assume to speak of 
the effects of their great bereavement upon the 
family of the deceased. They have solved the 
mystery of unutterable grief, i^nd yet, as we 
shall see, even they are not left to mourn as those 
who have no hope. It is a melancholy pleasure 
for us to honor the name and memory of Gen. 
Cobb. Alas ! how melancholy ! Still it is a pleas- 
ure. It is indeed pleasant to be enabled to place 
upon the records of this Court our unanimous, 
cordial, unqualified testimony to his genius and 
learning, his professional honor, his statesmanship, 
his patriotism, his kindness of heart and his un- 
rivaled social attractiveness. We lay this offering 
upon his tomb. It may be humble, but it expresses 
our affection and our respect for his character as 
eloquently as would a monument carved in marble 
and emblazoned with gold. 

Gen. Cobb was a native of Georgia, born of 
highly respectable and pious parents in the county 
of Jefferson. He was graduated at the University 
of Georgia, during the Presidency of Dr. Church, 
in the class of 1834. Immediately after his gradua- 



i83 

tion he commenced the study of the law under the 
direction of Gen. Hardin, a most excellent gentle- 
man of that ilk, and when admitted, at an early- 
age, settled in the town of Athens, Clarke county. 
Very soon he acquired a good practice, both in his 
own county and in the circuit. For several years 
he held the office of Solicitor-General of the 
Western Circuit, discharging its duties efficiently, 
zealous to convict the guilty, but forbearing toward 
the innocent. 

Neither the sovereignty of the State nor the 
citizen suffered wrong at his hands. A brilliant 
career awaited him. With a commanding person, 
fine voice, conciliatory address, industry, thorough 
mental furniture ; ardent, self-reliant, ambitious, he 
would have speedily reached the highest level of 
professional distinction. But a change came over 
the spirit of his dream, and like most young men 
of that day who were conscious of intellectual 
power, he became enamored of political life, and 
his aspirations in that direction were so promptly 
realized that his profession became an object of 
secondary importance. 

After the fall of the Confederate Government, 
he setded in the city of Macon and resumed the 



1 84 

practice. His success was equal to his most san- 
guine expectations ; clients multiplied, and at his 
death he stood in the front rank of the Georgia 
Bar. Upon an occasion so solemn as this it be- 
comes us to say nothing for effect and to indulge 
in no exaggeration ; and we may, therefore, hope 
that our estimate of Gen. Cobb, professionally and 
otherwise, will be taken as true and candid. He 
was not, in legal arguments, a dealer in dull, dusty 
cases, with little or no application to the point at 
issue. He was master of the principles of our 
noble science, and his acute discrimination and 
clear, vigorous judgment enabled him to apply 
them successfully. Nor did he rely upon them 
and his native originating power alone, but was 
wont to arm himself with authority — that latest 
authority which ruled the principle and most per- 
spicuously illustrated it. His manner of argu- 
mentation was logical, without the stiff, cold for- 
mality of scholasticism. Indeed he was a natural 
logician : he knew well how to assume premises 
and' draw conclusions without the aid of the syllo- 
gism or the tricks of the sophist. Before the 
Court he had great power of condensation, and 
never weakened his cause by repetition or profuse 



i85 

elaboration. He was happy in the handling of 
facts before the jury, and skillful, though fair, in his 
statement of them — -just to his adversary, earnest 
and persuasive, not unfrequently wielding at will 
both the convictions and the passions of the panel. 
In this connection, It may be proper to say that his 
eloquence found its happiest display before large 
popular assemblies. He was peculiarly at home at 
the hustings : there he achieved his most splendid 
triumphs — there he became regal. His clarion voice 
reached the ear of a great multitude, and his 
honest, amiable character reached their hearts. 

Gen. Cobb's political career was not only suc- 
cessful, but exceedingly brilliant. He rose rapidly 
from one position to another, until he became a 
recognized leader of the great Democratic party 
of the American Union. This Is not the occasion, 
nor ours the duty, to trace his ascending course. 
That responsible task will devolve upon the his- 
torian or the biographer. Suffice it now to say 
that, before the war, he represented his district 
in Congress for a number of years ; was Speaker 
of the House of Representatives ; Governor of 
Georgia; and Secretary of the Treasury during 
Mr. Buchanan's administration. His political record 

16* 



i86 

may be said to be voluminous. In it there is not 
to be found a blot or a blur. Amidst all the 
violence of party warfare no one of his political 
opponents, however unscrupulous, was ever known 
to utter a word impugning his integrity as an 
officer or his honor as a gentleman. The House 
of Representatives of the United States is a theatre 
upon whose boards demagogues play for popu- 
larity, partisans for power, genius and eloquence 
for renown, and patriots for peace, order and good 
government. It is, therefore, often disorderly, and 
frequently tumultuous. To preside over such a 
body with acceptability requires rare endowments 
— a thorough knowledge of men — quickness of 
perception — patience — self-control — firmness — a 
clear sense of justice — tact and impartiality. 

Especially is it necessary that the officer com- 
mand the respect of the house. That is, in fact, 
the chief element of his authority. All these quali- 
ties our friend possessed in an eminent degree ; 
and hence it was that no speaker, since the time 
of Mr. Clay, discharged the duties of the chair 
with more marked efficiency than did he. When 
the State seceded, having contributed as much to 
that result as any other citizen, he gave himself 



i87 ' 

unconditionally to the cause of the South. He 
yielded to it all the honors which he had won 
under the Union, and consecrated to its success 
his name, his estate and his life. He was elected 
a member of the Provisional Congress, and when 
it met was chosen its presiding officer. No body 
ever convened at the South was more able or 
more patriotic than this Congress. Party prepos- 
sessions, committals, animosities and creeds had 
no place in the deliberations of that august as- 
sembly. They could not live in an atmosphere 
charged with the sublime responsibilities of a stu- 
pendous revolution. A constitution was passed 
upon the basis of the principles of 1776, which 
was an improvement, as many believe, upon the 
Federal Constitution ; laws were passed and officers 
chosen to administer them. The civil revolution 
was in a few weeks accomplished, and the new 
government moved forward with a harmonious 
grandeur unparalleled in the annals of empire. 
To these ends no member contributed more than 
Gen. Cobb. His experience, profound knowledge 
of constitutional law, his devotion to constitutional 
liberty and his sound judgment, were all made avail- 
able in that great crisis. He was also a member 



i88 

of the permanent Confederate Congress ; but when 
the war began to rage, with its terrific foreshadow- 
ing of slaughter, poverty and the scaffold, he re- 
tired from the halls of legislation and joined the 
army, rising rapidly to the grade of major-general. 
In the military service he was ever prudent, obedi- 
ent to rightful authority, gallant and energetic. 
When the Confederate Government — after sacri- 
fices indescribable and the display of heroism un- 
imagined in the wildest dream of romance — fell, 
he conceded the fact of its extinction by over- 
whelming force, and acquiesced in the necessity of 
the surrender of its armies. 

Not only so, but he advised and urged the 
return of the Southern States to their former place 
in the Union. Uncomplainingly, and with quiet 
dignity, he retired to the walks of private life. We 
looked to him in these latter-day troubles and in 
the contingencies of the future as one of our 
wisest, safest advisers. We did well hope that he 
would live to be, as he ever had been, the champion 
of law and liberty. But he has passed "from 
gloom to glory," and his country has nothing left 
but the heritage of his fame and virtues. 

Turn we now to contemplate him in his private 



i89 

character. A mere outline sketch is all that we 
are at liberty to appropriate to a theme to which 
a volume might well be devoted. Its necessary 
meagreness, however, does not make It otherwise 
than orrateful. It is sometimes the case that emi- 

o 

nent men, especially in political life, draw around 
them friends from fear, or favor, or policy. Gov. 
Cobb's friends became such from affection. It is 
believed that he left more personal friends than 
any man who has lived and died in the State. 
These admired him for his ability, but loved him 
for the kindness, generosity and nobility of his 
nature. They were attracted by his stern sense 
of justice, by his benevolence, his charity and 
his genial companionship. Had he been less 
distinguished, he would not have been less 
beloved. 

Political antaofonism engfendered no bitterness In 
his soul, rivalry created no hatred, and disappoint- 
ment did not lessen his cheerfulness. Public life 
did not cool the warmth of his heart, and high 
position did not weaken in him the obligation of 
social duties. Nor was he capricious In his likings, 
but true and staunch through evil and through 
good report. The lowly and the lofty alike, if 



meritorious, shared in his good offices and elicited 
his sympathy. 

In the relations of husband, parent, brother 
and companion, he was a model man. His inter- 
course with his family was governed by the law of 
love. 

As its head he ruled with prudence and authority, 
but it was the authority of superior wisdom, united 
with forbearance, tenderness and assiduous atten- 
tion. His wife and children alone know, and they 
only can tell, how sweet were the charities of their 
home. 

The soldiers of his command during the war 
testify to his considerate attention. The poor, the 
suffering and dying were always the objects of his 
care and kindness. It has been represented re- 
cently by one occupying a high place, that he visited 
upon a sick and dying Federal prisoner extreme 
and wanton cruelty. This charge has been con- 
clusively disproved, but if it were not, we who 
knew him well, could not, would not believe it. 
It is contradicted by the whole tenor of his life, 
and by the unbroken course of our experience of 
his character. And, standing as we do at the 
brink of his recently-opened grave, we take the 



191 

responsibility of saying that the conduct attributed 
to him was utterly impossible. 

Perhaps in nothing was the goodness of his heart 
more beautifully manifested than In his benevolent 
attention to dependants — some of the old and faith- 
ful servants, for example, of the family. These he 
provided for and protected. Destitution and want 
always drew from him sympathy and supplies. 

It remains to speak of his religious character. 
He never made a public profession of religion, but 
it is known to his intimate friends that he had made 
up his mind to unite with the Baptist Church — the 
Church of his parents and of his wife — upon his 
return this fall to Macon. In the judgment of 
those friends he died a Christian. And this is the 
hope that, we trust, even now mitigates the sorrow 
of his mourning family and relations, and will, ere 
long, reconcile them to his loss. He was a pray- 
ing man for fifteen years before his death, accord- 
ing to his own account, but was harassed with 
doubts about the divinity of the Saviour — that is, 
as to the Godhead dwelling in the humanity of 
Christ. He could not solve the mystery of Godli- 
ness — God manifest In the flesh — which the Scrip- 
tures themselves pronounce great. Unable to be- 



192 

lleve without a satisfactory comprehension of this 
fundamental truth of our holy religion, he did not, 
until lately, enjoy a sensible realization of pardon 
and peace. This kind of struggle of a strong 
mind to subject revelation to the authority of 
reason is not uncommon. No doubt it is hard for 
one accustomed to think, analyze and understand, 
to become as a little child — a learner at the foot of 
the cross. But subordinating his pride of intellect 
and pride of life to a simple effort of faith, and 
inspired by the Holy Spirit, a careful study of the 
Scriptures resulted in a sense of acceptance with 
God. He became the recipient of that purest, 
best and most sublime blessing ever vouchsafed 
to humanity — regeneration. And thus anointed, 
sanctified and accepted, his spirit entered rest — that 
rest which shall endure through eternal ages. 

" O Gracious God ! not gainless is our loss : 
A glorious sunbeam gilds thy sternest frown : 
And while his country staggers with the cross, 
He rises with the crown." 

Resolved, That this Bar, his country and his 
family have sustained a great bereavement in the 
death of Gen. Howell Cobb ; that he was endeared 
to us by his manly, generous, cordial professional 



193 

companionship and association ; to his country by 
his sacrifices and services, and to his family by his 
tender affection, his considerate providence and his 
wise counsels ; that we deplore that one so dear 
to us and so full of the promise of future useful- 
ness should be called hence in the full maturity of 
all his powers : satisfied, however, that our loss is 
his great gain, we do not question the wisdom and 
mercy of God in transferring his spirit from earth 
to heaven. 

2. Resolved, That our respectful sympathy and 
condolence are hereby tendered to his family. 

3. Resolved, That the members of this Bar will 
wear crape on the left arm for the time of thirty 
days, as a testimonial of our respect for his cha- 
racter, and that the Clerk of this Court furnish a 
copy of this report to his family. 

E. A. NiSBET, 
W. POE, 

W. K. DeGraffenried, 

Clifford Anderson, 

Barney Hill. 

Committee. 

Judge Cole said: 

Ge7itleme7i: I fully endorse the eloquent and 
17 N 



194 

merited resolutions just read, and unite with the 
Bar in rendering this just tribute to the memory 
of the late Gov. Cobb ; and nowhere, in my opin- 
ion, can such a tribute more properly be paid to 
the memory of our departed brother than here, 
where the prominent talents and acquirements by 
which he adorned our profession have been so 
often and so lately displayed. 

In the death of Gen. Cobb the Bar of Macon 
has lost one of its very brightest ornaments, and 
this Court one of its very ablest and most en- 
lightened counselors. The State at large has sus- 
tained a severe loss in the death of this great and 
good man. His genius, his learning and his virtues 
have conferred an imperishable glory on his native 
State, whose liberties he fought to secure and 
whose institutions he labored to perpetuate. He 
was a patriot and statesman of spotless integrity 
and consummate wisdom. 

But above all, he was the ornament of society, 
the genial and social friend and companion of every 
member of this Bar, 

I have felt the death of Gov. Cobb very deeply. 
He was endeared to me by many ties. He was 
always kind and considerate, always indulgent and 



195 

charitable to my many errors and shortcomings ; 
and in all my intercourse with him here I ever 
found him a true and sincere Christian friend and 
gentleman. 

Remarks of Hon. Washington Poe. 

May it please your Honor : In rising to second 
the resolutions just offered, were I to be governed 
by the dictates of my judgment, I should not at- 
tempt to add one word to the appropriate, just 
and almost exhausting preamble submitted by the 
honorable chairman of the committee ; but when 
I look upon that vacant chair and that unoccupied 
desk, and remember that he who so recently pos- 
sessed them had granted me a measure of his 
friendship, my heart presents its claims, and I am 
induced to say a word or two, if only to serve as a 
means of laying my tribute of respect and affec- 
tion on the honored tomb of our departed brother. 

Although the preamble has been so extensive in 
its range, and has grouped together almost every 
element composing the noble character of our 
friend, yet there is one characteristic — and that an 
important one — which has been omitted. The pre- 
amble informs us that in the opening of the pro- 



196 

fessional career of Gov. Cobb he was appointed 
Solicitor-General of his Judicial Circuit, and that 
very soon thereafter he became the Representative 
of his District in the Congress of the United States, 
and from the floor was elevated to the Speaker's 
chair of that august body, where he presided with 
credit to himself and almost unparalleled acceptance 
to his fellow-citizens. His next elevation was to 
the Executive chair of his native State, and then 
to a prominent place in the Cabinet of President 
Buchanan. With all these honors resting upon 
him, after being the peer and counselor of the last 
of the statesmen, he retires into private life and 
engages in the practice of the law, totally devoid 
of all pretence or presumption, and demeaning 
himself with the modesty of the most unofficial 
member in our midst, and requiring only truth and 
integrity as the guarantee of his friendship and 
confidence. Sir, I consider this trait in the cha- 
racter of Gov. Cobb as one of the brightest jewels 
in the crown of his earthly glory. But in view of 
all this success and renown, may not instruction, 
if not admonition, be deduced from it? We, my 
brethren of the Bar, are now ardently engaged in 
the duties of our laborious profession — some for 



197 

wealth, some for honor, some for office, and some 
for fame ; but let us remember and be admonished 
by this striking example that all 

" Await alike tlie inevitable hour ; 
The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 

What a long line of this brotherhood has passed 
the dark river before us ! and we are rapidly fol- 
lowing in their footsteps. There are Lumpkin, and 
McDonald, and Strong, and King, and the Tracys, 
and 02Lr Cobb, whose friendship and sweet converse 
we have so often enjoyed. 

" Around us each dissevered chain 
In shining ruin lies, 
And human hands can ne'er again 
Unite those broken ties." 

Our departed brother left his home, with a part 
of his family, apparently in health, on a visit to the 
great commercial metropolis of this great and al- 
most boundless country, and whilst in New York, 
and in the very midst of social intercourse, his last 
summons came to leave this world, with all its 
cares, anxieties and engagements. By the aid of 
that profound wisdom with which he was so largely 
endowed, he was not found unprepared for this 
great and final trial ; but with perfect resignation 

17* 



198 

to the call, and as one tired with the labors of the 
day disrobes himself for a night's repose, he calmly 
laid off his earthly habiliments, being fully con- 
vinced that there was prepared for him a robe of 
righteousness at God's right hand, and which all 
shall receive who, like him, in humility and faith, 
accept the imputed righteousness of Another. I 
second the resolutions. 

Remarks of Samuel Hall, Esq. 

May it please your Honor : While I do not arro- 
gate to myself the ability " to paint the lily or gild 
refined gold," my feelings prompt me to lay an 
humble offering upon the tomb of one of the 
wisest and best men it has been my fortune to 
know — 

" Friend of man and friend of truth, 
The hope of age and guide of youth ; 
Few hands like his, with virtue warmed. 
Few heads with knowledge so informed" — 

to hold up his example to the younger members 
of the profession which he loved and adorned ; to 
invite them to tread the path which led him to 
honor, usefulness and distinction ; and to contem- 
plate his illustrious career, and 



199 

" Gaze upon the great 
Where neither guilty glory shines, 
Nor despicable stab." 

From his earliest manhood Gov. Cobb was 
marked for distinction: his elevation to the high 
places of the Republic was almost simultaneous 
with his entry into public life. At thirty years of 
age he was Speaker of the popular branch of 
Congress — a position that had before been occupied 
by Stevenson, Polk, Hunter, Macon and other dis- 
tinguished statesmen, but none of them discharged 
its duties with more signal ability than our departed 
friend. While he was Speaker I visited Washing- 
ton City, and in company with a friend paid my 
respects to Mr. Clay, who asked me if I had been 
to the House of Representatives, and added that 
as a Georgian I would feel my pride glow upon 
contemplating the brilliant career of my fellow- 
countryman, (the Speaker), who had shed more 
dignity and lustre upon that station than any one 
since the days of Judge Cheves of South Carolina. 
He successively filled, with honor and usefulness, 
the Executive chair of this State, and the office of 
Secretary of the Treasury during most of the ad- 
ministration of the late President Buchanan. Yet, 



20O 



although his career as a statesman was immensely 
successful, he deeply regretted that more of his 
time had not been devoted to the study of his 
profession, and that he had not engaged more 
extensively in its practice. Men are not lawyers 
by intuition, and can only become so by long and 
assiduous study ; but with an accurate knowledge 
of the general principles of the science, a mind 
like his could easily make the details from which 
these conclusions were deduced. Show him the 
magazine, and he would select the weapon the oc- 
casion required and wield it with a giant's strength 
and a master's skill. What seemed to cost him 
little effort was only to be obtained by persons less 
gifted after laborious application and painful vigils. 
This spot is suggestive of instances of the truth of 
this remark. In an interesting case that occurred 
during the present year, the principles involved had 
been discussed by one of the most gifted advocates 
of the State with an ability and copiousness that 
seemed to exhaust the subject ; all appeared to 
think that nothing was left for Gov. Cobb to say, 
but in this anticipation they were mistaken. His 
clear discrimination, powerful analysis, sound judg- 
ment and unsurpassed powers of reasoning pre- 



20I 



sented the cause in an entirely new and original 
light, and caused all to feel, as Justice Buller said 
he did upon listening to the luminous judgments 
of Lord Mansfield, that " his mind was lost in ad- 
miration at the stretch and strength of the human 
understanding." 

Again, I have seen him victor over the combined 
legal talent of the State, and I hope I do no injus- 
tice to the just claims of the distinguished judges 
who presided in the case involving the constitu- 
tionality of the Stay Law of 1866, when I declare 
it as my conviction that most of their inspiration 
and reasoning was derived from his truly great 
argument on that occasion. His line of thought 
was singularly coincident with that of the Supreme 
Court of the United States when treating lately 
the same subject ; he had never seen the case re- 
ferred to, nor had the judges of that Court the 
benefit of his masterly argument and sound con- 
stitutional views. 

His return to the Bar after the close of the war 
may, without much violence to language, be said to 
have been the commencement of his professional 
life in earnest. The vocation was highly agreeable 
to him, and he sought by every means in his power 



202 



to elevate its character and augment its usefulness. 
He pursued it with ardor and enthusiasm, and 
made the thoughts of its great masters a part of 
his own intellectual and professional being. Jus- 
tice as administered by the courts he ever regarded 
as the safeguard of society and the highest interest 
of the State : it was this that kept the body politic 
in harmony ; " the highest was not exempt from its 
requirements," and " the least felt its care." Very 
foreign from his nature was everything like indirec- 
tion. His mind instinctively repelled all finesse 
and sophistry. He sought truth, and when he 
found it he gave it the homage of his great and 
pure heart. From the constant and trying labors 
of his profession he found time to look after the 
educational and benevolent interests of the com- 
munity. Few are aware of the extent of his bene- 
factions, not only in the way of alms, but of kind 
offices and valuable advice. He boasted not him- 
self of these deeds — he blew no trumpet before 
him — his right hand knew not what his left hand did ; 

" He did good by stealth, and blushed to own it fame." 

All ages, sexes and conditions, who enjoyed the 
privilege of his acquaintance, felt an affectionate 



203 

attachment to him. Not on-ly the refined and en- 
lightened citizens of the city, but the simple dwell- 
ing in remote hamlets, upon the announcement of 
his sudden death felt a sense of the great bereave- 
ment the country had sustained. The very children 
mourned him as they would a lost father. His 
coming always made them glad, and they witnessed 
his departure with feelings of regret — often with 
tears. He needs no monument to perpetuate his 
fame ; his life is his monument ; his cenotaph is in 
the hearts of his countrymen. The plaudits of his 
contemporaries will be caught up and prolonged 
by future generations, and will swell in volume 
and earnestness so long as virtue has a worshiper, 
as genius is admired, and true chivalry and noble- 
ness of character are appreciated. 

His mind was as broad as the universe, and he 
could not give up to sect or party what his Maker 
meant for mankind. He could not be contracted 
into the narrow confines of the intolerant and 
bigoted ; his commerce was with the world, and it 
was impossible to dwarf him to the dimensions of 
a haberdasher of small wares. On the day pre- 
vious to his death I received from him a letter 
communicating his improved health, and saying 



204 

that he would meet me at his home on the fifteenth 
day of the month. But the enjoyment we antici- 
pated from again taking him by the hand, listening 
to his wise conversation and hearing his lively 
sallies, was destined never to be realized ; the 
places which once knew him were destined hence- 
forth to know him no more for ever. 

He was indeed brought home to rest in the 
bosom of a mother who had cherished him, and who, 
in his turn, he had honored by making her name 
loved and respected in every civilized country on 
the globe. He was laid by the side of those who 
were kindred spirits in life — Lumpkin, Dougherty, 
Deloney, and his own illustrious brother, Gen. 
Thos. R. R. Cobb. The mouldering ruins sur- 
rounding the mausoleum of the mighty dead are 
emblematic of their earthly career, while the beauti- 
ful Oconee, which flows hard by their last earthly 
resting-place and sings their perpetual requiem, 
now smiling in the sunshine, now stricken by the 
storm, will murmur on a thousand years and flow 
as it now flows, is typical of their better and im- 
mortal part. The summons, though sudden, did 
not find Gen. Cobb unprepared; in the very act 
of professing his Lord and Master to one of His 



205 

chosen ambassadors, he was caught up and trans- 
lated to the bosom of his Father and his God ; and 
the angels in heaven, we doubt not, were in full 
sympathy with the ecstasies of those who had gone 
before at re-uniting with the loved one from whom 
they had been separated by the narrow boundaries 
between time and eternity. All that is left us now 
is to cherish his memory and follow his example — 
to emulate his virtues, and make timely preparation 
for the great ordeal which he has triumphantly 
passed, so that when the dread messenger comes, 
we too may be prepared to receive him, and go 
not hence like "a galley slave scourged to his 
dungeon," but sustained and soothed by an unfal- 
tering trust — 

" Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him. 
And lies down to pleasant dreams." 

Remarks by A. O. Bacon, Esq. 

May it please your Honoj' : When a great man 
like Gen. Cobb dies, it is most fit that the tributes 
which are due to his character and worth should be 
paid by those who have been his contemporaries 
during the greater portion of his life; but there 
are some phases of his character which can be 

18 



2o6 

more properly spoken of by a young man ; and in 
rising to do so I but obey the earnest promptings 
of my heart. Although it was my mournful privi- 
lege to see him laid in the grave, it is difficult for 
me to realize that Gen. Cobb is dead. Such a very 
short time ago he was with us and of us, in out- 
ward appearance the picture of robust health, the 
idol of his family, the pride of his friends and the 
life and soul of the social circle ; and now that we 
say he is no more, it is difficult to realize that so 
much of life is indeed dead ; that his eye, so beam- 
ing with liveliest emotions of love and sympathy, 
has for ever lost its lustre ; that his voice, whose 
thrilling tones of eloquence we have so often 
listened to in this chamber, and which was ever 
ready to enliven, assist and direct, has been hushed 
In death ; and that his hand, lately so warm in 
friendship's clasp, is now but cold and lifeless clay. 
To me, as to the other members of this Bar, Gen. 
Cobb's loss Is a personal affliction. Through a 
period of twelve years, by unnumbered kindnesses, 
he taught me to know him as my friend, and un- 
consciously I grew to love him better than a friend. 
And what I say here will be endorsed by all the 
young men who were so fortunate as to enjoy his 



207 

acquaintance. He was truly the young man's 
friend. He possessed eminently the faculty of 
endearing himself to young men with whom he 
came in contact. This was not owing to effort 
upon his part with a design to Increase his popu- 
larity, but his large, warm and peculiarly sym- 
pathetic heart naturally led him to understand and 
appreciate the many difficulties and trials which 
young men encounter in the beginning of life, es- 
pecially in the beginning of professional life. 

These he was ever ready to assist with counsel, 
encouragement and advice, and also with pecuniary 
aid if needed. With these kind offices, in the per- 
formance of which he never wearied, he "grappled 
them to his soul with hooks of steel." Not only 
so, for this man of mature age, giant intellect and 
vast experience, who had "sounded all the depths 
of greatness," was not only the faithful friend, but 
also the genial, familiar companion, to the young 
man inexperienced, and, compared with him, of 
little knowledge. In the hearts of thousands of 
young men all over this land he has raised "a 
monument more lasting than brass ;" and when 
this and the next generation shall have followed 
him to the grave, the story of his excellent worth 



208 

will, in the lessons of the fireside, be told to our 
children's children. 

Allusions have been made, in the report of the 
committee, to the happiness of his family relations. 
This is sacred ground, upon which we may not 
intrude too far or tread too lightly. But to those 
of us who were permitted to see the beauty of 
those relations its memory will never fade. His 
faith in the virtue and purity of woman, and his 
knightly respect and veneration for her person and 
character, bore their legitimate fruits in his devo- 
tion and tenderness to his wife and daughters. To 
his grown sons he was at once the devoted father 
and genial companion. In the company of his 
little children, his great heart overflowed with 
genuine happiness, and among them he was again 
a child, even the most boisterous and gleeful. 

In the virtue of hospitality he was pre-eminent — 
not from policy, not for the gratification of pride 
in the display of wealth, but with his big, generous 
nature — the most generous I ever knew — he loved 
to have his friends around him and share with 
them the best he had. His house was ever open 
to the friend and the stranger, and amid the boun- 
teous profusion which ever covered his generous 



209 

board, the chiefest pleasures which the guest ex- 
perienced were the freedom and sincerity of the 
genial hospitality which he dispensed. About Gen. 
Cobb there was nothing small ; he was great in all 
things. His nature was open, frank, generous, 
hilarious, enthusiastic, affectionate, tender, sympa- 
thetic, sincere. Add to this a peerless intellect, a 
brilliant wit which never hesitated, failed or care- 
lessly wounded, joined to a happy address which 
ever found its way by the shortest route to every 
heart, and we have a faint outline of this splendid, 
magnificent man. As a lawyer, the report of the 
committee has assigned him to his appropriate 
position in the front rank of the profession. In 
the field of oratory he was indeed regal. He 
swept with master hand all the chords of human 
passion, and the strains of his eloquence fell upon 
and enveloped his hearers as with the weird spell 
of an incantation. Truly, "upon his lips had the 
mystic bee dropped the honey of persuasion." 

But he has gone ! How painful that our heart- 
strings should be so violently torn from the object 
of our love ! How terrible that this grand man, 
towering in his strength, should so suddenly fall 
powerless and lifeless before the unexpected stroke 

18* O 



2IO 

of death ! It is sad to see the decayed and lifeless 
trunk, swaying its bare and leafless arms in the 
blast, fall before the fury of the storm. But when 
we see some great oak, a giant among its fellows, 
its huge arms and thick foliage indicating its 
strength and vigor, its green leaves but tinged 
with the hues of coming autumn — when we see 
this pride of the forest, when all is calm and still, 
when no breeze ruffles its foliage — fall with a re- 
sounding crash to the earth, we are struck dumb 
with awe. 

General Cobb occupied so much space in men's 
hearts and before the public eye that his sudden 
taking away can but leave a great void. We are 
all painfully conscious that this void cannot be satis- 
factorily filled by another. Only himself could do 
it. The devoted, tender husband and father, the 
fast, unfailing friend, the generous and genial com- 
panion, the hospitable and benevolent citizen, the 
brilliant orator, the great statesman, has gone from 
among us, and we never shall see his like again. 

Remarks of Judge James Jackson. 

May it please your Honor : If the spirits of the 
departed are permitted to revisit the scenes of 



211 

earth, and to be cognizant of what happens here, 
then is the spirit of my beloved kinsman, friend 
and partner gratified to-day. The great respect 
which he felt for your Honor, as the presiding 
officer of this court and as a man, I know full well ; 
the profound esteem in which he held the venerable 
and distinguished gentleman who prepared and 
offered the preamble and resolutions, and the no 
less venerable and honorable gentleman who sec- 
onded the resolutions, is equally known to me ; I 
know, too, the closer tie of long personal friend- 
ship and kindly sympathy which bound him to the 
able and learned gentleman from Fort Valley, 
and the almost paternal affection with which he re- 
garded my younger brother, whose feeling tribute 
to his memory is yet ringing in our ears ; I know 
the cordial kindness which he felt toward every 
member of this bar ; therefore, may it please your 
Honor, I know that no tribute of respect to his 
memory, not even that which bathed all Athens, 
the scene of his boyhood and lifelong friendships, 
in tears over his bier, could gratify him more than 
this testimonial from this Bench and this Bar. 

May it please your Honor : General Cobb had 
within him much of the " esprit de corps' — the love 



212 

of the profession — of the brotherhood — of the 
family of lawyers. Whenever and wherever he 
saw a lawyer — especially a young lawyer — strug- 
gling under adverse circumstances, he felt like 
throwing his own great arm around him and lifting 
him up. Hence the Bar of the Western Circuit — 
the younger members of it particularly — ever gath- 
ered around and leaned upon him; and hence this 
Bar with whom he had mingled but three years — all 
of them, from the oldest to the youngest — re- 
spected, may I not say loved him living, and now 
gather to-day to participate, not coldly and formally, 
but from their hearts and with deep feeling, in hon- 
oring him dead ! 

May, it please your Honor: Whether present in 
spirit or not, my beloved partner is not visibly 
present to express gratification and return thanks ; 
but surely if any living man may personate the 
dead and speak in his behalf, then of all men living 
I have the right and mine is the duty to speak in 
the name of Howell Cobb. 

Sir, when I was a boy, my father, embarrassed by 
pecuniary difficulties, was forced to sell his residence 
in Athens and remove to the country ; and from 
that time the house of Colonel John A. Cobb, the 



213 

father of Howell Cobb, became my home during" 
my scholastic course. Howell Cobb was some four 
years my senior, yet the room In the house familiarly 
known even to the servants as the boys' room, he 
and myself occupied together ; and though the old 
mansion itself has long since been torn down and Its 
site Is now In the possession of strangers, that room 
is still vividly before me, with the bed In which he 
lay and that which I occupied ; and, may It please 
your Honor, though but a boy, he gave to me his con- 
fidence then, and through the long series of years 
which have followed he never withdrew it. When 
but a boy I leaned upon him, because he was 
stronger, physically, mentally and morally, than I 
was, and when the news came of his death, I felt my- 
self leaning upon him still. I loved him — may it 
please your Honor, I loved him more than I loved 
any man. I loved him, and watched his brilliant 
career with a satisfaction equal to that which would 
have Inspired me had my own ambition been borne 
on the same triumphant tide. 

But it Is not my purpose to speak of the great 
powers of his intellect; it is not my purpose to 
trace his career as a statesman, who, elected to 
Congress at the age of twenty-six, became at thirty 



214 

the foremost man in the House of Representatives 
and leader of the Polk administration party in that 
House ; nor is it my purpose to portray him as 
Speaker of that House, presiding with such prompt- 
ness, efficiency and dignity as to draw those plau- 
dits from Henry Clay of which my brother has 
just spoken ; nor shall I speak of him as Governor 
of Georgia, nor as Secretary of the Treasury of 
the United States, nor as the President of the Pro- 
visional Congress which assembled at Montgomery 
and Richmond ; nor shall I speak of his sacrifices 
and services, civic and military, to that which must 
now go down in history as the " Lost Cause ;" nor 
shall I address this Bench and Bar in respect to his 
vast powers as lawyer and advocate displayed here 
under your Honor's eye, in other Circuits, and be- 
fore the Supreme Court of Georgia. 

No, sir — of none of these will I speak ; these 
are known and read of all men ; but they describe 
not the man whom I loved so much and so long. 
" 'Tis the soul that makes the man." Of the soul 
of Howell Cobb — of the inner man — of that spark 
of divinity which comes down from heaven, and 
kindling clay into life makes that life like God's — 
of the seat of the emotions, the source of the af- 



215 

fections — of that whence everything noble, pure and 
good flows to nourish, vivify and beautify human- 
ity — of this innate principle within the breast of 
Howell Cobb, exemplified by the outward deeds 
of a lifetime, of this and these I will speak to 
your Honor, for a moment. 

Sir, his was the soul of ineltmg chaiHty ; and the 
Divine spark was all aglow within him in this the 
noblest and best of human qualities — the begin- 
ning, the end, the sum of Christian graces. He 
was the most charitable man I have ever known. 
Not a ragged urchin in this, or any other commu- 
nity ever asked him for alms and went off denied ; 
not one widow or other suffering child of humanity 
ever approached Howell Cobb for aid without 
finding in him a friend and a brother. His charity 
always, too, proceeded from the great Bible prin- 
ciple of love — love to the common brotherhood 
of man. " If a man love not his brother whom he 
has seen, how shall he love God whom he has not 
seen ?" 

Sir, I believe that the man whose soul I am try- 
ing to photograph was under the dominion of the 
grace of Christ long before he knew and fully 
recognized God in Christ. His charity ever took 



2l6 

a religious turn. Ministers of the Cross were ever 
its most favored objects. 

I remember asking him years ago, on returning 
from Franklin Court, what he had charged the 
Rev. \Vm. J. Parks for services rendered in an im- 
portant and hotly-litigated lawsuit in that county ; 
his reply is as fresh in my mind as if given yester- 
day : " Do you suppose. Judge, that I would ex- 
change for any amount of money the prayers of 
such a man as Mr. Parks, for me and for my 
family ?" 

Nor did he do anything by halves. He was 
whole-hearted — his liberality exhaustless, or only 
exhausted when purse was empty and credit gone. 
I remember to have been told by the Rev. Mr. 
Warren, the Baptist minister of this city, that soon 
after the close of the war he received a note from 
Mrs. Cobb, in behalf of her husband and herself, 
begging him to accept an accompanying donation. 
Mrs. Cobb was not then a member of Mr. War- 
ren's congregation, her church membership being 
in Athens, but she had enjoyed the benefit of his 
ministry at intervals of temporary sojourn in Macon, 
during the war. He opened the enclosure, and 
found that it contained a greenback note for ^500. 



217 

Another incident occurs to my mind. During the 
last year or two of the war, continuous streams of 
Confederate troops swept daily by the residence 
of Bishop Pierce in Hancock county. The latch 
was ever on the outside of the Bishop's door ; his 
house and smoke-house were opened wide to the 
wants of the suffering soldiery, until all his sup- 
plies were swept away, and himself and family left 
with nothing. My father-in-law, Mr. Mitchell, 
conveyed the information to General Cobb, who 
straightway sent from his plantation wagon-loads 
of bacon and stores to supply the deficiency in the 
Bishop's larder. 

At the close of the war, he called upon the Rev. 
Wm. Flinn of the Presbyterian church at Mil- 
ledgeville, and insisted upon knowing his pecuniary 
condition, and how he managed to support his 
family and himself — stating that he knew that his 
parishoners must be poor from the effects of the 
war, and unable to do much for him. Mr. Flinn 
told me that he tried to put him off, but General 
Cobb insisted on his right to know and relieve his 
wants, extorted from him his condition, and sent 
him ample supplies for himself and household for a 
twelvemonth. 

19 



2l8 

I remember once telling him that the Rev. Allen 
Turner, a very holy but very peculiar servant of 
God, had imbibed the opinion of him entertained 
by many who did not or would not know him, that 
he was irreligious, dissipated and profane ; that I 
had tried to disabuse Mr. Turner of the idea, but 
feared that I had failed. I was on a visit to his 
house at the time, and the conversation occurred 
in the sitting-room in the presence of others. 
Before I left he took me aside into a private 
room, handed me a twenty-dollar greenback, and 
said, " Will you hand this to Mr. Turner, and with- 
out telling who sent it, say to him that a man who 
hopes he is not so bad a man as he thinks him, 
gives that to an old, worn-out servant of God. I do 
not think he is to be blamed," he added, " for en- 
tertaining opinions of me which others, who ought 
to know better, have circulated far and wide." 

To the Rev. Josephus Anderson of the Florida 
Conference — a gentleman whose acquaintance he 
made whilst stationed at Quincy during the war, 
and whom he much admired and loved — he sent 
suits of clothing, and to the wife of that gentle- 
man dresses in keeping with the presents to her 
husband. 



219 

Whilst at his funeral at Athens, I learned from a 
Sfentleman who derived his information from the 
merchant himself, that during the current year he 
had given orders to the amount of one thousand 
dollars for provisions furnished to the widows and 
orphans of Athens and its vicinity, and I heard 
that some poor widow there had, since his death, 
weepingly acknowledged the receipt of fifty dollars 
in money from him. 

But, may it please your Honor, I may not re- 
count half the deeds of his charitable soul which I 
myself know. And these deeds, for the most part, 
have come to my knowledge since his decease. 
Here, too, the spark divine had lighted his soul : 
" When thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand 
know what thy right hand doeth." He died, and 
the lifelong friend of his bosom was not aware of 
the tithe of his good deeds, though that friend had 
thought that he breathed into his ear almost every 
secret of his soul. 

His was the soul of hospitality. And herein, too, 
the spark divine caught upon material that lighted 
his whole man into a flame. The commandment 
of the Apostle was in full harmony with the bound- 
inijs of his own bis: heart. He was the most lib- 



220 

eral-hearted, the most widely hospitable man I 
have ever known. His house was stretched to em- 
brace all. I have known — I think I speak within 
the bounds of truth — of fifty persons lodging and 
eating with him at his Macon home at one time. 
At Athens, at Washington, at iMilledgeville, where- 
ever he lived, he was the same — his house ever 
full, yet, like an omnibus, never so full as not to 
take others in. 

His was the soul of honor. And surely, sir, if 
integrity and truth be the corner-stones of honor, 
herein too is the divine illumination apparent ; for 
Jesus, the man-God, is not only the Way and the 
Life, but the Truth ; and sin, in its last analysis, is 
but a denial and rejection of the truth of God. 

Once, when Speaker, his honor, in connection 
with the journal of the House, was called in ques- 
tion by Mr. Preston King of New York. 

Gen. Cobb instantly vacated the chair and called 
to it his Whig competitor, Mr. Winthrop of Mas- 
sachusetts, whom he had defeated for the position. 
The result was his unanimous acquittal by the 
committee named by Mr. Winthrop, and the 
unanimous endorsement of their report by the 
House. 



221 

In his young manhood, his father, by requesting 
his endorsement, involved him in debt to the 
amount of seventy thousand dollars. By using a 
clause in his uncle's will which, he was advised, 
gave him most of the large property of his father 
on his attaining twenty-one years of age, he could 
have applied that property to the extinguishment 
of the liabilities he had endorsed, and left unen- 
dorsed creditors to whistle for their money. But 
the hicrh tone of his unselfish honor would not 
permit him to use the means. He felt that his 
father had been credited upon the strength of that 
large property as his own, and rather than see his 
good name reproached my noble kinsman, may it 
please your Honor, labored for twenty years 
under the burden of this security debt, the last 
item of which was only paid about the beginning 
of our civil war. 

When Governor of Georgia, he made three 
trips to the North to sell her bonds. Mr. Mitchell, 
the Treasurer of the State, insisted that he should 
pay his expenses out of the contingent fund, citing 
precedent after precedent of others who had oc- 
cupied the Executive chair ; but he replied, 

" No ; Georgia pays me three thousand dollars as 

19* 



222 

my salary for all my services ; I have no right to 
touch a dollar more of her money." 

His was the soul of true, unalterable, constant 
friendship ; and herein, too, it resembled the soul 
of Him who " sticketh closer than a brother" — who, 
"having loved his own, loved them to the end." 
He was a true man, may it please your Honor — 
true to the cause he espoused, true to the friend 
he loved. However others may have shifted their 
course in that great struggle "which tried men's 
souls" indeed, and which resulted so disastrously 
to Southern interests, having fixed his eye in the 
beginning upon the Polar star, there its gaze re- 
mained riveted to the end. The cause, the cause, 
everything for the cause ! was his inspiring cry from 
the first to the last of that mighty contest. And, 
sir, while the chain was, as it were, around his own 
limbs, when he heard that Mr. Secretary Seward 
had tauntingly said that no human being at the 
South had asked for the release of Mr. Davis from 
Fortress Monroe, Gen. Cobb wrote Mr. Seward 
from Athens to the effect that every man at the 
South, who had manhood in him, felt equally guilty 
with our illustrious but ill-fated chiefs — that every 
true heart bled for his sufferings, and that the only 



223 

reason why the universal wail was not heard at 
Washington was the fear that its cry might do 
harm rather than good to the representative of 
our common " Lost Cause." 

And when at last the illustrious prisoner was 
admitted to bail, Gen. Cobb tendered to him and 
his family a home in his household, or, if he pre- 
ferred it, the free use of either of his residences — 
that at Macon, at Athens or at Americus. This, 
sir, I know to be a fact, from personal knowledge. 

Sir, if my partner died with unkind feelings in his 
bosom toward a human being that God had made, 
it was feeling engendered by wrong done, as he 
thought, to a friend whom he loved, and who had 
reciprocated that love to the hour of his death; 
and when the grave closed over that friend, he 
seemed to have felt that friendship for the dead 
required him to inherit the wrong and pursue and 
punish the wrong-doer. 

May it please your Honor, this fidelity to friend- 
ship is the reason why Howell Cobb had friends 
such as few men ever possessed. His friends 
loved him because he loved them ; not for his 
great intellect, for Satan's capacity equals perhaps 
that of the archangel, yet who loves Satan ? It 



224 

was the fellowship of Howell Cobb with men and 
his love for man which made men love him. 

Love begets love. This is the principle which 
underlies all affection in all the relations of life. 
Husband and wife, parents and children, brothers 
and sisters are all tied together by this cord of 
mutual love ; nay, more, sir, this is the corner- 
stone of our holy religion : " we love Christ be- 
cause he first loved us." So the friends of my 
friend loved him because he loved them, and 
proved that love in a thousand ways. 

Sir, I stand before you a living illustration of his 
friendship on the one hand, and, all I had to give 
him in return, my love, on the other. I read law in 
his office, and as soon as I was admitted he took 
me in as a partner, and insisted on sharing with me 
the salary as well as the perquisites of the office 
of Solicitor-General which he then held. I have 
now in my possession letters from him, authorizing 
me to draw without limit on his factors during his 
absence. He knew my pecuniary condition, and 
gave them to me in full confidence that I would not 
abuse it. On their authority I could have drawn 
all he had in that house. 

Sir, his friendship for me, manifested so often 



225 

and so long, was strikingly exhibited at Athens in 
August last. We had been retained in a cause 
which involved a very large property, and were en- 
titled, he thought, to a fee of five thousand dollars. 
He said to me that the war had left me without 
property — without even a home — and urged me, 
on my return to Macon, to collect that fee and pur- 
chase a homestead. I said to him that I would be 
left too much behind on our books. He replied 
that he did not wish it to appear at all upon the 
books, nor did he wish any note of It made. If I 
should ever be able to repay him, well ; if not, he 
could make no investment of twenty-five hundred 
dollars which would gratify him more than in the 
purchase of a home for me and my little orphans. 
The fee was not collected, nor the purchase made ; 
but with me, sir, the will was the deed; and the 
noble heart and abiding friendship of my generous 
kinsman are as fully illustrated in the one as they 
would have been in the other. 

May it please your Honor, had I not loved such 
a man ; had I not been willing to make any sacrifice 
consistent with honor to serve him, I should have 
been less than man ; and the wonder how or why 

his friends so loved and adhered to him ceases the 

p 



226 

moment those friends reveal to mankind the secret 
throbbings of that heart, now, alas ! pulseless for 
ever ! 

How much I did love this man ! How much 
respect him ! How I wept over his grave ! I 
know nothing, may it please your Honor, to which 
I can liken my love for him save that which Jona- 
than bore to David ; and had I, like Jonathan, been 
the heir of Israel's throne, I would have placed the 
crown on his brow as nobler, purer, worthier than 
my own ! 

His was the soul of kindness and mercy to all 
inferiors and dependants ; and oh ! if there be one 
link that binds the Saviour stronger and closer to 
our hearts than all others, it is his loving-kindness 
and tender mercy toward us so inferior to, so help- 
lessly dependent upon, him ! 

Sir, in the time of slavery no lash was ever 
applied by him to the back of a slave, nor would 
he tolerate in employe or overseer the slightest 
touch of inhumanity to his slaves. I do not re- 
member in the close intimacy of a lifetime to have 
heard him use a harsh expression or to have seen 
him cast an angry glance toward the servants 
about him. His was ever the law of love, and so 



227 

he ruled household and dependants with tallsmanic 
power. Wherever he sojourned he was a favorite 
with all servants. His was the first buggy and 
horse brought to the door when Court broke and 
lawyers left, and great was the contest among 
ostlers upon whom should devolve the task of 
attending to Mars. Howell's horse. His room was 
the first to be served — water brought — fire made — 
wood and liorfitwood furnished in abundance — be- 
cause his was the gentlest voice, the kindest look, 
the most liberal hand. 

May it please your Honor, should the eye of the 
little pages at Washington when he was member 
and Speaker, rest upon these remarks in print, 
they, though grown to manhood now, will recog- 
nize the identity of this feature of the great, good 
soul of Howell Cobb; for toward them was ever 
the same voice and look and hand. 

This trait of his character was ever strikingly 
manifested toward children. In the summer of 
1867, in the absence of his family at Athens, he 
spent much of his time at my house, and every 
little heart among my little ones beat quicker and 
each eye sparkled brighter at his approach ; for all 
knew that candy or sugar-plum or toy ever followed 



228 

in his wake. His big, paternal heart embraced all 
the young, the guileless, the innocent, and rejoiced 
to see them happy. 

Sir, He who said, " Suffer little children to come 
unto me and forbid them not" — He who embraced 
them in his own Divine arms, had taken something 
of his own blessed spirit and mingled it with the 
spirit of Howell Cobb. 

His was the soul of the reverential so7i, the in- 
dulgent, loving, ever-forgiving father, the peifectly 
single-hearted and ever-devoted husband. Su rely, sir, 
He who was " obedient to his Father unto death — 
even the death of the cross ;" He who was, is and 
ever will be the most indulgent, loving, long-suffer- 
ing, forgiving of all Fathers ; He who as husband 
loves, cherishes, nurses with sleepless vigilance 
night and day — wearing her image ever on his 
own divine heart — his bride, the Church of God ; 
surely, sir. He had herein, too, touched long ago, 
with his grace, the heart of Howell Cobb, and 
made it kindred to his own. 

I never knew a more reverential son. An affront 
to himself was comparatively nothing — the slightest 
shadow of disrespect to his father aroused all the 
lion within him. A distinguished gentleman, pro- 



229 

nouncing an eulogium upon the character of his 
brother, Gen. T. R. R. Cobb, attributed the great- 
ness of that gentleman in intellectual and moral 
power in a great degree to the influence and training 
of his father-in-law, Judge Lumpkin. Gen. Cobb 
lived, perhaps, to forgive, but he never forgot the 
remark. He considered it insulting to the memory 
of his own noble, venerable and venerated father, 
whom he considered the equal of any man in great 
practical common sense and judgment, and inferior 
to none in all those moral and religious attributes 
which make the man and fit him to impress man- 
hood upon those whom he rears at the fireside. 

I shall not trust myself, sir, to speak of his 
tenderness to his mother. She was the best of 
women, and from her heart, overflowing with love 
for all around her, her son of whom I now speak 
drew much of the inspiration of his own noble 
soul. Her memory is as dear to me, sir, almost as 
that of my own mother, for her voice was always 
gentle and her look ever the glance of love to the 
boy that sat at her fireside and ate at her table. 

What a father was this noble man ! How by 
the hour has he unbosomed himself to me about 
his children — revealed his hopes and his fears — 



20 



230 

felicitated himself on the happy marriages of his 
three grown sons, and talked as lovingly of their 
wives as if sprung from his own loins ! How 
solicitous about the souls of his children long be- 
fore he felt assured that his own was safe ! How 
often has he told me that he would not for worlds 
have one of them suspect that he doubted the 
divinity of Jesus ! So that alone, at his own fire- 
side, he bore in his breast the secret that agonized 
his doubting, struggling heart so long. He would 
not reveal it to her whom he loved better than his 
soul, for he knew how it would grieve her Christian 
heart ; and to shield her from every pang was the 
absorbing care of his domestic life ! 

What a grandfather was he ! I see him now at 
his Athens home, with three or four of these little 
ones prattling around him — heedful of all their 
little wants — -joyful in all their innocent prattle — 
happier, far happier, than when j^omp and place 
and power were at his nod. Often when sum- 
moned to Macon on business, in Summer and Fall 
has he expressed to me his exquisite enjoyment 
of their innocent gambols, and how he longed to 
be with those little ones again ! 

May it please your Honor, even I, twin-brother 



231 

in affection to the dead, may not unveil more of 
the curtain of his happy home-Hfe. I may not 
speak of him in reference to her, the one object 
of his love through life. I know all its single-eyed 
devotion — its inception — its constant growth — its 
beautiful, ripe, mellow fullness in autumnal life. 
When he was courting her, boy though I was, he 
confided in me, told me his hopes and fears, his 
alternations of courage and doubt, and revealed to 
me, sooner perhaps than to any one else, his success 
and eno-agfement. 

I have witnessed the flush of pride on his face 
by her side in the splendors of Washington society. 
I have seen the unutterable agony of that face 
when she lay on the bed of sickness which he 
feared might be the bed of death ! True to every 
cause he ever espoused ; true to every friend who 
ever served him ; this man, who was indeed a man 
in the full stature of moral manhood, was true in 
every fibre of his big soul to the woman who 
gave him her young heart and who almost wor- 
shiped him through life ! He respected her intel- 
lectual and moral nature as much as he loved her ; 
and often, very often, has he told me that he would 
give the universe, if he held it in his hand, to 



232 

possess the simple faith and trust in Christ which 
he saw daily exhibited and exemplified in her 
home-life. 

Blessed be God ! that faith in Christ was at last 
the reward of a long struggle to obtain it, and his 
soul became a soul redeemed — regenerated and 
"born again" by the grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Yes, sir ; above all and better than all I 
have yet said, his was the soul of '' a child of God,'' 
full born, with unmistakable featicres of Divine 
pater Jiity ! 

Sir, it is a source of infinite satisfaction to feel 
that whilst he knew me to be but a poor, frail, 
weak, sinful, erring man, he had confidence In my 
integrity as a Christian. I have the great satisfac- 
tion of knowing that immediately on our coming 
to Macon to practice law, before my family had re- 
moved here from Mllledgevllle, or his from Athens, 
whilst we occupied his house alone, he opened his 
heart to me on the great subject of religion. The 
conversation occurred on the stoop of his house 
on Walnut street, and from that moment I felt that 
the Spirit of the Most High was leading him, and 
that that Spirit would "lead him Into all truth." 
He spoke of his aged father and his sisters and 



233 

brothers, all of whom had been members of some 
Christian church, and himself, the eldest born, still 
out. He spoke of the overwhelming impression 
made upon him at a communion service in the 
church of the Rev. Mr. Anderson, at Quincy, when 
his brother, Major John B. Cobb, and others of his 
staff left their places at his side to kneel at that 
solemn service. His thouo-hts ascended to the 
marriage supper of the Lamb, in heaven ; to his 
venerable father, deceased several years before, and 
who dying had laid his hands on his head and, 
blessing him, had said, " Howell, my son, meet me 
in heaven ;" to his pious brother. Gen. T. R. R. 
Cobb, who had recently fallen on the battle-field 
of Fredericksburg, in sight of the house where 
their mother was born ; and the thought fell upon 
his mind with crushing force, Shall I be separated 
for ever from these f 

Sir, whilst he thus talked to me every lineament 
of his marked face heaved, and tears fell like rain 
from his eyes. I told him that he ought to unite 
with the Church of Christ at once. He replied 
that he would gladly do so if there was one that 
would take him in, but that he could not compre- 
hend that God ever was in man — that he doubted 

20 « 



234 

the divinity of Christ, and he could not and would 
not join any Church with a lie on his lips. 

May it please your Honor, is it wonderful that 
any mind should pause at the threshold of the 
stupendous thought that the infinite and self-exist- 
ing Creator of all should condescend to become 
a man — a humble, despised and rejected man — a 
buffeted, persecuted and crucified man ? " Great 
is the mystery of godliness !" exclaimed the Apostle 
of the Gentiles, as he grasped the thought of God 
in the humanity of Christ — a mystery only capable 
of solution by simple, child-Hke faith. The manner 
in which Gen. Cobb was led to imbibe the great 
truth, and hold and press it to his heart, adds an- 
other to the many instances of the wonderful 
providences of the Almighty. 

Mr. William Hope Hull in the month of June 
last paid him a visit by appointment. Gen. Cobb's 
family were in Athens for the summer, and him- 
self away for a day or two by an unexpected call. 
He requested me to entertain Mr. Hull until his 
return. I had known Mr. Hull from boyhood. I 
knew that whilst he was then, and had been for 
years, a firm believer in the religion of Christ, he 
had once been skeptical. I knew that he had read 



235 

largely on the subject — skeptical works and those 
upholding the truth as It Is In Jesus ; and the 
thought recurred to me that he mlo-ht be of service 
to my friend on the great subject which so occupied 
his thoughts and so much perplexed his mind. 
Accordingly, I asked him If he had ever conversed 
with Gen, Cobb upon the subject of religion. He 
said he had not. I told him that it was, when not 
engaged In business, our constant topic, and that 
to Gen. Cobb it was the most Interesting subject 
of conversation ; and after telllnof him of the diffi- 
cultles In the way of Gen. Cobb, I suggested to 
him to talk to him upon the subject — stating that 
on the General's return they would be together 
alone in his house, and would have every oppor- 
tunity of free and full interchange of views. He 
replied that he thought he had in his mind a book 
which must satisfy any Intelligent mind — especially 
such a mind as Gen. Cobb's — of the divinity of 
Jesus and the reality of the man-God ; and If In 
town, he would buy it and present It to him. 
Shortly thereafter he returned to my office with 
"The Christ of History," which was the book 
referred to, and which he had found at the store 
of Mr. Burke. On Gen. Cobb's return, Mr. Hull 



236 

gave him that book, and they conversed freely 
during Mr. Hull's stay upon the great theme. 

A few days after Mr. Hull's departure, Gen. 
Cobb came into the office with brow unclouded, 
and a light in his eye and serenity about his face 
which I had not observed there for months — nay 
years, before — and said to me that " The Christ of 
History" was the greatest book, the most unan- 
swerable argument, he had ever read ; that it had 
removed all his doubts of the divinity of Christ; 
and that his mind was relieved from the apprehen- 
sion of death and the uncertainty of the Hereafter. 
Sir, it becomes me not to say how much I rejoiced 
at the glad tidings. Suffice it to say, that on that 
day or the next I told the Rev. Mr. Warren that 
Gen. Cobb was converted. He immediately sought 
an interview at the General's house, and becoming 
perfectly satisfied of his true conversion, observed, 
as he was about to depart, that they should give 
thanks to God for the great change which he had 
experienced. They both fell upon their knees, and 
Mr. Warren subsequently stated to me he never 
heard a heartier Amen than that which came from 
the heart of Gen. Cobb. Both, he informed me, 
rose from their knees bathed in tears, and that 



237 

good man, grasping both of Gen, Cobb's hands in 
his own, welcomed him into the fold of Christ. 

Sir, at Athens in August, I saw him again, and 
was again struck with an unusual simplicity of 
manner and quietness of deportment ; and having 
occasion to narrate to him an incident which in 
other days would have aroused the lion within him, 
I found the lion a lamb. The strongf man had be- 
come a confiding child — a babe had been born for 
heaven. 

Sir, at New York he died in the very act of 
confessing his Saviour to Bishop Beckwith of the 
Episcopal Church, and from that confession of 
Jesus upon earth before men, his spirit ascended 
to be confessed by Jesus before his Father and the 
angels, in heaven. 

So, may it please your Honor, though sorrowing 
for my kinsman and my best and dearest friend, I 
" sorrow not as those without hope." I know as 
well as I know anything, that Him whom he had 
long and earnestly and anxiously sought he at last 
found. He had told me a hundred times that he 
was ready to give up every earthly aspiration 
and fruition for truth — truth in regard to God, to 
eternity ; and no such man ever was, ever can be 



238 

lost. I know that he loved honor, truth, purity, 
holiness, and that he loved these as Impersonated 
in Jesus. I know that he loved Jesus, and, loving 
Him, loved most those who lived nearest to Him ; 
and I know as well as I know anything which I 
cannot see that God, In great mercy, had prepared 
him for that great change which took place In the 
city of New York. This dispensation of Divine 
Providence was all arranged by that inscrutable, 
unsearchable Being " who doeth all things well." 

Whilst It was his intention, often expressed to 
me, to unite with the Baptist Church — the Church 
through which his father and mother had ascended 
before him to glory, and the Church of the wife 
whom he loved so devotedly, yet my brother Hall 
is right. He was not, he could not have been, a 
sectarian. He would have ever loved your Honor — 
an Episcopalian ; he would have loved these gentle- 
men — Presbyterians ; he would have loved me and 
other Methodists ; and he would have loved him 
most, to whatever branch of the Church of Christ 
he belonged, who approximated In character and 
conduct nearest to our great Lord and Head — our 
common exemplar — the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I have thus sketched before your Honor the 



239 

outlines of the grand portrait I see before the eye 
of my mind. The sketch is imperfect, but, such as 
it is, it unveils a majestic soul — the soul of one who 
was indeed "A prince in Israel ;" without exception 
the best man, the noblest specimen of our fallen 
humanity, It has ever been my fortune to know. I 
say not that the original was perfect, for there are 
spots even on the sun ; but I do say that the rays 
of light emitted from all that was luminous and 
lovely about him so obscure every spot that even 
the eye of telescopic criticism cannot discern and 
locate one. 

I have not transferred the picture In all its fullness 
to canvas, for It Is beyond the power of the most 
skillful artist, even when the heart guides the hand, 
to paint the sun, and I possess no qualification of 
such an artist but the hand of affection. Even 
from this rude sketch, however, your Honor will 
see the nobility of his soul, and your own know- 
ledge of the man, drawn from your intercourse 
with him, public and private, will enable you to fill 
much of the picture, and to complete in thought 
the work I must leave undone. 

Friend of my boyhood, of my vernal summer, 
autumnal manhood, farewell, but not for ever! 



240 

Winter is rapidly whitening my own brow, and the 
blood courses more and more sluggishly through 
veins congealed with much of its snow and ice ; 
contemporaries sink out of sight daily around me ; 
all things admonish me " the time is short." Faith, 
simple, childlike, helpless, clinging faith, in that 
Jesus whom you, my friend, confessed with your 
dying lips — faith in that "house of many man- 
sions" prepared by Him for all who confess, trust, 
love Him here — leads me confidently to anticipate 
the day when you and I shall sit down together in 
some quiet nook in that vast mansion of the re- 
deemed, and talk over the struggles and conflicts, 
the trials and triumphs, the victories and defeats, 
the joys and sorrows which we encountered so 
long hand-in-hand here ; and, smiling at the empty 
bubbles which so allured the ambition of our earthly 
hearts, we shall together adore that wonderful provi- 
dence which through unseen and diverse paths, yet 
with unerring accuracy, brought us at last to rest, 
peace, joy, for ever ! 

And now, may it please your Honor, in the name 
of that widowed heart at Athens which will grieve 
for him so long as that heart is flesh ; in the name 
of his children, whose hearts will glow at the mere 



241 

mention of his name so lonof as those hearts shall 
beat ; in the name of the little grandchildren whose 
innocent prattle he loved so much, and whose little 
arms would ever stretch out to meet him ; in the 
name of his numerous relatives and many friends, 
all of whom loved him as only such a man can be 
loved ; and in my own name, who loved him not 
less than most of these, — I return you and my 
brethren of the Bar thanks for this testimonial of 
affection and respect to Howell Cobb. 

Action of the Supreme Court of Georgia. 

At its session in August, 1869, at Atlanta, the 
Supreme Court of Georgia appointed a committee, 
consisting of Samuel Hall, Esq., chairman, E. A. 
Nisbet, William Ezzard, William Hope Hull, and 
Judge D. A. Vason, to take into consideration the 
death of Hon. Howell Cobb. On the morning of 
the 1 2th of August the committee made its report, 
which consisted of an adoption of the resolutions 
and sketch of General Cobb that had been pre- 
pared by Hon. E. A. Nisbet at the request of the 
Macon Bar, of which General Cobb was a member. 
The resolutions and sketch were adopted at the 

session of the Bibb Superior Court on the 30th of 
21 Q 



242 

November, 1869, and are printed in full in this 
volume. At the conclusion of the report to the 
Supreme Court, Chief-Justice Brown, from his seat 
on the Bench, delivered the following Address : 

Address of Chief-Justice Brown, of the Supreme 
Court of Georgia. 

Gentlemen of the Bar : In behalf of the Court, I 
submit the following reply to your report and 
resolutions : 

General Howell Cobb was no ordinary man. 
His name will occupy a large space in the history 
of his country and the times in which he lived. 
Richly endowed by nature with intellectual strength, 
which had been developed and cultivated in a very 
high degree, he was eminently fitted for the many 
responsible positions which, by the free suffrage of 
his countrymen, he was called to fill. To great 
ability and force of character were added industry 
and energy, forming a combination which seldom 
fails to achieve success. 

General Cobb was admitted to the Bar at an 
early age, as stated in your report, and commenced 
the active duties of life, as a lawyer, in the West- 
ern Circuit, in this, his native State. With the ad- 



243 

vantages of a fine personal appearance, a mind 
remarkably active, logical and penetrating, aided 
by a liberal education, he rose rapidly to position 
and distinction in his profession. But he was soon 
called by the people to lay aside, in a great mea- 
sure, his professional pursuits, and to serve them, 
as he did during most of the remainder of his life, 
in high official positions of great importance and 
responsibility. 

In the Congress of the United States, where 
he served during a long period of its proudest 
history, he not only won rank as a man, but he 
exercised great control as a leader. 

In the Executive Chair of his State his ad- 
ministration was distinguished for ability, liberality 
and a vigilant attention to all the duties imposed 
upon him. 

Of the course of General Cobb during the latter 
and more thrilling scenes through which we have 
passed I will not now speak. Justice requires that 
the history of these times, as it is to be transmitted 
lo posterity, shall not be written, nor the motives 
and conduct of men who acted as prominent a part 
as did General Cobb to be too freely criticised, till 
the passions and prejudices which were engendered 



244 

during the contest have entirely subsided, and Rea- 
son has resumed her sway. When posterity has 
seen results, the historian, with the materials which 
will be preserved and placed at his command, will 
be able to assign his proper position to each of the 
leading spirits who took part in the war and in the 
construction of the government after the disastrous 
and crushing defeat of the armies of the South 
and the hopeless loss of her cause. 

During the high excitement of the past, and the 
great conflict of opinion as to what was the best 
that could be done for our almost ruined section, 
under all the circumstances by which they were 
surrounded at the close of the civil war, it was 
the misfortune of some of us to differ widely from 
General Cobb, and in the excitement of the times, 
when men had too little charity for each other while 
sitting in judgment upon motives, those differences 
may, in some cases, have been productive of per- 
sonal alienation, which led to crimination and re- 
crimination. 

But all these differences, which grew out of con- 
flicting opinions on public policy in times of high 
political excitement, and produced alienation and 
estrangement, are evanescent and soon pass away. 



245 

In the grave they are forgotten. And when, under 
Divine Providence, one party precedes the other, 
for a httle while, to that habitation which awaits all 
the living, they are never remembered and cher- 
ished by any honorable and generous survivor. 

General Cobb was not only an honorable, upright 
citizen in all the private walks of life, but he was 
distinguished for many noble traits of character 
and many private and social virtues. In his death 
Georgia has lost one of her ablest statesmen ; the 
Bar, one of its brightest ornaments ; society, one 
of its most cherished members, and his intelligent 
and amiable family, an affectionate, kind, indulgent 
husband and parent. 

But relatives, friends and professional associates, 
as well as States and nations, must bow in sub- 
mission to these afflictive dispensations of Provi- 
dence, and we must all say reverently, " Thy will 
be done." 

It affords the Court pleasure to testify their re- 
spect for the memory of General Cobb, as a dis- 
tinguished member of this Bar, by directing that 
the preamble and resolutions be entered upon the 
minutes of this Court, in compliance with the re- 
quest therein contained. And it is so ordered. 

21* 



246 



Action of the Board of Trustees of the Uni- 
versity OF Georgia, on the Announcement of 
THE Death of General Howell Cobb. 

Since our last regular meeting, Death has caused 
us, in common with his family, his friends, society 
and his country, to weep at the tomb of one of 
our most illustrious fellow-citizens, and one of our 
ablest, most devoted and earnest co-laborers in the 
great work of promoting art, science and education 
through the instrumentality of the University of 
Georgia. 

Howell Cobb, an orator, statesman, patriot and 
Christian, is no more. His life was devoted to the 
service of his country, the maintenance of the rights 
and happiness of his fellow-citizens, to the cause 
of virtue and the pursuit of truth. 

His education was begun and finished in the 
schools of this University. In its very threshold — 
at the grammar-school and University — he exhibited 
those moral, social and intellectual characteristics 
which won such confidence, admiration and affec- 
tion, and gave him such prominence throughout 
his too brief yet brilliant career. By his compre- 
hensiveness of intellect, his accurate and solid 



247 

judgment, his kind, generous and noble heart, 
his almost miraculous quickness of perception, 
and his rapid execution, Nature stamped him as 
a leader of men. His whole life illustrated and 
vindicated his title to that distinction. Called by 
the people at an early age to represent them in the 
House of Representatives of the United States, a 
place among the most distinguished, controlling his 
fellow-members, was immediately assigned to him. 
The discriminating judgment of his associates soon 
called him to the chair of the House, where he won 
new and unsurpassed honors for his ability and 
fidelity in the discharge of the duties of the office. 
He then filled with unexcelled ability and faithful- 
ness the office of governor of Georgia, and was 
again returned to Congress to win new claims to 
public gratitude. He was next called to fill one of 
the highest |Dositions in the Cabinet of President 
Buchanan. Equal to the performance of its high 
duties, "clear in his office," his zeal, fidelity and 
capacity placed his name high on the roll of his 
most distinguished predecessors. 

In the proud effort of the late Confederate States 
to assert and vindicate their sovereignty and to 
maintain the rights and liberties of the people, he 



248 

was conspicuous on the side of his country, in the 
council and in the field. As president of the con- 
vention he aided by his great talents and ripe ex- 
perience to erect a new government, and he buckled 
on his sword to give permanence and security to 
the great work, still struggling in the cause of 
truth and right, still worshiping at the altar of 
patriotism. When the fortune of war wrested the 
sword from his own hand and from the hands of 
the brave and chivalrous champions of liberty, and 
blasted the hopes of his countr^^men, he yielded to 
inevitable fate with a spirit unbroken and a heart 
undaunted, without a stain on his honor or a single 
unworthy concession to the power which overthrew 
the right. 

Death found him at the zenith of his glorious 
career, standing at his post, a faithful sentinel ready 
for duty amidst the fiery deluge of rage, hate and 
corruption which was overwhelming and consuming 
the last hopes of liberty in his native land. 

This is but a faint outline of the public career of 
the great man whose loss we deplore. Amid all 
these public cares, we all know his zeal, fidelity and 
constancy in the discharge of every duty connected 
with his office of trustee. Here he was never 



249 

wearied In well-doing. His private life commends 
him no less to our love and affection than his 
public life to our gratitude and admiration. In all 
the relations of private life — as son, husband, father, 
relative, friend, citizen — his daily walk from youth 
to the grave was a model of excellency, of affection 
and fidelity, and sheds naught but joy, happiness 
and blessing upon family, friends and society. 

Therefore the committee would recommend the "^ 
adoption of the following resolutions : 

Resolved, That It Is the sense of this body that in 
the death of Howell Cobb the State of Georgia 
has lost one of the most gifted and distinguished 
of her sons, the University one of Its brightest 
ornaments, and this Board one of its ablest and 
most useful members. 

Resolved, That this Board tenders to the afflicted 
family of our lamented associate the expression of 
Its sincere condolence and sympathy In the great 
affliction which it has pleased God to visit them. 

Resolved, That It Is the desire of this Board, as 
representatives of the University, to obtain permis- 
sion to inscribe upon the monument to be erected to 
the memory of Howell Cobb Its estimate of his 
character and virtues, and that the proper steps be 



250 

taken to secure the permission of his family to 
carry out this wish. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon 
the records of this Board, and that a copy of them 
be communicated by the Secretary to the widow 
of our deceased brother. 

R. Toombs, Chairman, 




FRIENDSHIP'S OFFERINGS, 



Oh, your desert speaks loud ; and I should wrong it 
To lock it in the wards of covert bosom, 
When it deserves with characters of brass 
A forted residence 'gainst the tooth of time, 
And razure of oblivion. 

Stand free and fast. 
And judge him by no more than what you know 
Ingenuously, and by the right-laid line 
Of truth, he truly will all styles deserve, 
Of wise, good, just ; a man, both soul and nerve. 



V. 




FRIENDSHIP' S OFFERINGS. 

Offering of \Vm. Hope Hull, Esq. 

Augusta, November 4, 1868. 

EV. S. BOYKIN— Dear Sir: In response 
to your request, I attempt, amid a very 
unusual pressure of professional and pri- 
vate business, to write a brief memorial of a de- 
parted friend. 

I feel deeply my inadequacy to the task. My., 
attachment for him, and my grief for his loss, still 
fresh and poignant, cannot be put in words; and 
when the memories of the past crowd upon me, I 
can only sit in sad reverie, and think of the associa- 
tions sundered for ever, and of delightful inter- 
course unbroken for years, but never to be had 
again. I can only think of him and speak of him 
in terms of unqualified eulogy ; for his faults, what- 



22 



253 



254 

ever they may have been, were never apparent to 
me, and now I could not be persuaded of their 
existence. I do not pretend to write as an im- 
partial critic, but as a warm, devoted friend. 

My acquaintance with Gov. Cobb commenced in 
my childhood, but my intimate association with 
him dates from the spring of 1840, when I was 
admitted to the Bar of the Western Circuit, at 
which he had practiced about four years previously. 

A more genial and delightful society has seldom 
been collected than was the Bar of the Western 
Circuit twenty-eight years ago. They were not 
perhaps very learned in the books ; they were not 
as assiduous in business as lawyers are now ; but 
in native talent, in shrewd knowledge of mankind, 
and above all in the qualities of social good-fellow- 
ship, in kindly humor and a disposition to pass life 
agreeably, they were not easily surpassed. It is 
sufficient to those who remember them to recall 
the names of Judge Harris, Judge Dougherty, Gen. 
Harden, Mr. Paine, Col. Stanford, B. H. Overby, 
and A. J. Peeples, besides others whom I do not 
name because they still survive, to prove all that I 
have said of the character of their social inter- 
course. 



255 

In this brilliant circle our friend was pre-eminent. 
He was the life of every company, the universal 
favorite. He was in the freshness of his youth, 
overflowing with animal spirits, warm-hearted and 
generous, and of a good-humor that never failed. 
Everybody called him by the familiar name of 
" Howell ;" his room in the hotels was the nightly 
resort of all who could spare the time for society. 
Political excitement was running high, and he was 
a warm partisan, but it made no difference in his 
social intercourse. Whigs sought his room as con- 
stantly as Democrats, and enjoyed his cordial good- 
humor as heartily. He was no raconteur of anec- 
dotes, nor did he utter prepared witticisms that 
could be quoted. Everything was the spontaneous, 
natural utterance of the moment, and consisted in 
a steady, uniform flow of good-natured banter, that 
kept the whole company in the same pleasant 
temper with himself. He never said ill-natured 
things ; he was never sarcastic, and no one was 
ever mortified or wounded by anything that he 
uttered. 

Though these qualities were shaded somewhat 
in after years, when the cares of life pressed on 
him, yet they characterized him up to a late period 



2s6 

of his life. I believe it may be said with literal 
truth that no one was ever tired of his company. 

I have said that his unfailing good-humor lasted 
to a late period of his life. The date at which it 
left him was the date of the subjugation of his 
country. After that dreadful blow he never was 
(in this respect) the same man. He was as kind- 
hearted as ever, as loving and gentle ; and he 
often, by an effort, would call back some of the old 
humor, but those who knew him well could see 
that it was forced. The buoyancy and elasticity of 
spirit was broken, and he was a sad and melancholy 
man. It would be strange if it had not been so, 
for he loved his native South with a warm and 
passionate devotion ; and to see her crushed and 
bleeding under the heel of oppression and have 
no power to help, and to look into her future and 
see the dark clouds in which it was shrouded 
crushed him down as no mere personal sorrows 
could have done. 

But I will not dwell longer on this theme. 

As a lawyer, Gov, Cobb was as successful as 
could be expected under the circumstances in 
which he practiced. His influence with juries was 
always great, and his strong, clear sense seized at 



257 

once on the controlling points of a case, and he 
unraveled intricate facts with consummate skill. 
He would easily have taken the lead in his pro- 
fession if his energies had been devoted to it. But 
he was only twenty-seven years of age when he 
was elected to Congress, and from that time to 
the close of the war his attention was given to 
public affairs. 

Since our subjugation he devoted himself anew 
to the law, and showed how easily he could master 
it when he made the proper efforts. 

Of his political career I have no occasion to 
speak. Everybody knows it, and it will of course 
be judged of by the different standards of men's 
diverging opinions. 

Those who knew him best, however, will unite 
in bearing testimony to his ardent love for his 
country and the sincerity with which he sought 
her welfare. Whatever mistakes he may have 
made as to the means, the ends he sought were the 
happiness and prosperity of his country. 

But it is neither as a lawyer nor as a politician, 
nor in any public capacity, that I love to contem- 
plate his character. I think of him as the man, as 
the friend, as the companion ; and I feel what is 

22 » R 



25S 

lost to the little world that was around him, rather 
than to the great world in which he was one of 
the actors. A more noble, princely heart never 
beat ; a more gentle and loving spirit never passed 
away. He might have done wrong things — he 
could by no possibility have done a 77iea7i thing. 
His charity was unbounded, his love universal. 
He never, as I believe, knowingly and unneces- 
sarily Inflicted pain on any living thing. He never 
failed to do a kindness if it came in his way. 
Sometimes he denounced what he considered base- 
ness In terms so strong that one who did not 
know him might have called it hate to the in- 
dividual ; but it was not so. He had no hatred in 
his composition ; and no one would ever have 
asked in vain for his help if placed where it was 
needed. His generosity In giving to the needy 
was profuse. 

Perhaps he could claim the less credit for this 
in that he never valued money, and did not bestow 
a regret on parting with it ; but In this matter he 
did more. He gave in secret ; he let not his right 
hand know what his left did. I have heard many a 
time, through accidental channels, of acts of large 
liberality that I had never heard alluded to by him, 



259 

and do not doubt that there were many of which 
I never heard. It was this universal good-will that 
made him so universal a favorite. 

No man had more devoted friends, because none 
felt more warmly the sentiment of friendship him- 
self While he was kind and generous to all, 
for his friends he had an affection that had no 
bounds. 

He was the most unselfish person I ever knew ; 
and when we reflect that he was ambitious, and 
that ambition is the most selfish of passions, we 
can appreciate the nobleness of soul that was 
always looking to the happiness of others and 
working for their success, 

I will not prolong this letter. The universal 
sorrow so sincerely manifested for his loss shows 
that those who knew him need no one to tell them 
what he was. I will only add a single circumstance. 

When I returned from Athens after his burial, I 
was sitting in the second-class car on the railroad, 
and heard the conversation of three colored men 
sitting near me. I soon discovered that they had 
been Gen. Cobb's slaves in former times, and that 
they had gone from South-west Georgia to x^thens 
to attend his funeral. 



26o 

I entered into some conversation with them about 
him. The most intellio-ent of them said to me : 

"Sir, all that the preachers said of him was true, 
and very well as far as it went ; but they did not 
say enough. If you want to know what a noble 
man he was, ask those who were his servants. 
They know it better than any one else." 

He was indeed a nobleman of God's own making ; 
a princely soul, a type of the Southern gentleman, 
such as we shall not easily find again. 

Respectfully, 

Wm, Hope Hull, 

From Rev. J. L. M. Curry, D. D. 

Richmond, Va., December 24, 1868. 

I first knew Howell Cobb when I was a mere 
boy, fourteen years of age, at the University of 
Georgia. Then he was a promising young lawyer 
and an ardent Democrat. The party excitement 
"ran high," and Clarke county was opposed in 
politics to the young politician ; but I remember 
distinctly, in the discussions that took place be- 
tween the friends of the opposing parties, the 
courteous respect and warm attachment manifested 
for him by Judge Charles Dougherty, then the 



26l 

leader of the Whig party in Georgia, and the 
unusual popularity of Mr, Cobb with the " common 
people." Incapable of judging of the merits of 
the disputants, a speech of Mr. Cobb's made a 
deep impression, however, on my youthful mind 
by its clearness, fervor, directness and eloquence. 
Mr. Cobb was kind to me then, when I was a 
boy ; spoke words of encouragement and hope and 
friendly regard ; and when I subsequently met him 
in public life, it was easy for my early admiration 
to ripen into mature friendship, 

I entered the United States Congress with Mr. 
Buchanan's administration, remaining a member 
until the first of January, i860, when I retired to do 
what I could to secure the secession of Alabama. 
During that period, Mr. Cobb was Secretary of 
the Treasury. A former acquaintance, relationship 
to his wife, nativity in the same State, coincidence 
of political opinion, common sympathies in the 
imminent sectional struggle, threw me into intimate 
intercourse with him, which continued without in- 
terruption until his death. During much of the 
time that I was in Washington, scarce a week 
passed that I did not meet him in the unreserve 
of his own family, and I therefore had opportunities 



262 

that few possessed for knowing the inner man in 
a superior degree. It is well known that Mr. 
Buchanan's administration encountered the bitter- 
est opposition from the Republican party and that 
fragment of the Democratic party which supported 
Judge Douglas in his peculiar views. Charges of 
corruption, extravagance and malfeasance in office 
were unsparingly made against high officials. The 
Kansas troubles, John Brown's raid, the long con- 
test for the Speakership and its exciting incidents, 
the Charleston Convention, the rupture in the 
Democratic part)^ and the Presidential election 
were inflammable causes, that aggravated political 
strife and alienated personal friendships. The angry 
and embittered contests were fretting asunder the 
bands of cohesion that had hitherto united the 
separate States in political compact. During these 
troublous times. Gov. Cobb was a general favorite ; 
his "receptions" were crowded, and extreme Re- 
publicans often spoke to me of his unfailing good- 
humor, his contagious cheerfulness, his frankness, 
his patriotism, his devotion to duty and his official 
purity and incorruptibleness. No whisper affect- 
inof his honor was breathed. No stain of slander 
blurred the mirror of his public reputation. 



263 

In the administration of his office, distribution 
of patronage, interpretation of revenue laws, Gov. 
Cobb was scrupulously careful and conscientious. 
I was often impressed by his transparency of cha- 
racter, his fearless fidelity to right and duty, his 
unselfishness, his reliance upon principle, his rigid 
adherence to constitutional obligations, and his un- 
faltering confidence in the honesty and good sense 
of the masses. 

Gov. Cobb had as few of the arts of the mere 
politician, the tricks of the craft, as afiy one I ever 
met in the public councils. He had no disguises 
nor concealments. He was a bold statesman, frank 
and true, and honest and courageous. When he 
despaired of State equality and constitutional jus- 
tice for the minority section, he threw himself into 
the preparatory struggle with all the ardor of his 
noble nature, and counted all personal sacrifices 
as mere dross in comparison with the honor and 
welfare of his beloved South. 

When the deputies from the sovereign States 
of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mis- 
sissippi and Louisiana met in Montgomery to form 
a Provisional General Government for those States, 
Gov. Cobb was unanimously chosen as the Presi- 



264 

dent of the Congress. His large experience as a 
member and Speaker of the House of Representa- 
tives of the United States Congress admirably 
fitted him for that position, and he discharged its 
delicate duties to the entire satisfaction of the body. 
Few political convocations have ever met with 
graver responsibilities or a more scrupulous sense 
of the solemn obligations devolved on them by a 
confiding constituency. In addition to the general 
legislation necessary to organize a new govern- 
ment in all its departments, to provide an ade- 
quate financial system, to raise, equip and support 
an army, to put in operation all the machinery for 
a political experiment suddenly subjected to sever- 
est pressure, the Congress was compelled to frame 
a Provisional Constitution for the nascent Con- 
federate States. It was thought proper also to 
adopt a Constitution for the permanent government 
of the Confederacy. In all this action, whether in 
framing statute or organic laws. Gov. Cobb took 
a prominent and influential part. The discipline, 
training and experience of the Bar and Congress- 
ional life gave him an eminent fitness for this work. 
His thorough acquaintance with the minute details 
of the practical operations of the Federal Govern- 



26s 

ment made his services invaluable. His speeches, 
not numerous, were short, cogent, lucid, vigorous, 
characterized by large grasp and wide scope and 
shrewd forecast. They were not the utterances 
of temporizing expediency, but the enunciation of 
principles, bold thoughts, running ahead of the 
present, and guarded like "the wise discourse 
which looks before and after." 

Gov. Cobb, Mr. Stephens and Mr. Toombs, 
Georgia's three great statesmen, and others, sought 
to engraft in a modified form upon the Permanent 
Constitution a feature assimilating it somewhat to 
the British Constitution, in its idea of ministerial re- 
sponsibility. Their speeches on that subject would 
have reflected credit on the British Parliament in 
the days of Fox and Pitt and Burke, or on the 
American Congress in the purer and better days 
of the republic, when the great Triumvirate were 
without peer or rival. Instead of yielding to the 
sagacious suggestions of these philosophical states- 
men, the Congress ventured only upon this amend- 
ment of the former system of dependence and 
irresponsibility ; " Congress may by law grant to 
the principal officer in each of the Executive De- 
partments a seat upon the floor of either House, 

23 



266 

with the privilege of discussing any measures ap- 
pertaining to his department." 

The permanent Constitution, as ratified, is a 
conclusive refutation of all the malicious charges 
against the Confederate States of a purpose to 
establish a monarchy or overthrow constitutional 
liberty. The New York Herald republished the 
Constitution with an editorial commendation of its 
judicious improvements and changes, and sug- 
gested its acceptance by the North as a proper 
settlement of all existing difficulties. 

Taken as a whole, the Provisional Congress was 
an assembly of men of very superior ability. Such 
deputies as Withers, Chestnut, Rhett, Memminger 
and Barnwell, of South Carolina ; Stephens, Toombs, 
Hill, Bartow, Nisbet and T. R. R. Cobb, of Georgia ; 
Walker, Smith, Shorter and Chilton, of Alabama ; 
Harris, Harrison, Brooke and Clayton, of Missis- 
sippi ; Kenner, Sparrow and Conrad, of Louisiana ; 
and, later, Wigfall and Hemphill, of Texas ; and 
Hunter and Rives and President Tyler, of Virginia, 
were illustrations of the advanced civilization of 
the South, and the popular appreciation of the 
kind of men who were needed in that formative 
and perilous period. It will not be questioned 



267 

that when the Provisional Government ceased its 
functions, Gov. Cobb had established a reputation 
as a wise, able and sagacious statesman, inferior to 
none of his associates, while he certainly had a 
stronger hold than any upon the affections of his 
fellow-members. 

Criticisms upon Congressional legislation during 
the war have been, since the surrender, severe and 
numerous. The difficulties of the situation were 
irremediable by statutes. Perils would not " down" 
at legislative bidding ; nor would armies and coin 
come forth from hiding-places upon a Congress- 
ional call. No organic laws, no prevision of states- 
manship, no financial skill, no legislation however 
perfect, could increase population or make one 
man equal to six, or multiply indefinitely the pro- 
ductive capacities of rude manufactories, or keep 
a necessarily-inflated currency at par with gold in 
a constantly-narrowing field of circulation. The 
struggle betwixt the Confederate States and the 
United States was not a struggle betwixt adverse 
legislatures, but a terrible contest of arms ; and all 
the skill and patriotism and courage and intelli- 
gence and devotion of our chivalrous and noble 
people could not perpetually resist preponderating 



268 

avoirdupois and limitless physical resources. No 
legislation could provide for all the exigencies of 
adverse battle. ''War," says an ancient historian, 
" least of all things proceeds on definite principles, 
but adapts most of its contrivances from itself to 
suit the occasion." Gov. Cobb saw that not in the 
halls of Congress, but in the tented field (alas ! 
how often untented and shelterless !), the issue 
was to be decided ; and having advised secession, 
he felt impelled by a conscientious sense of duty 
to share all the dangers which were forced upon a 
people desiring only peace and freedom. 

Gov. Cobb was not what is called a hard student. 
He was too social in his temperament, too fond of 
"goodlie companie," for severe application and mid- 
night oil ; and yet, when novel and great questions 
were presented, he thought closely and intensely. 
Duty and conscience guided him inflexibly in his 
opinions and actions. 

I most admired Gov. Cobb as a man in his social 
relations, where he exhibited the docility of a child, 
the tenderness of a woman, the ardor of friend- 
ship, sympathy for youth, warm-hearted Southern 
hospitality, and where domestic virtues shone forth 
in their pure attractiveness. In his public life he 



269 

bears the closest scrutiny, but those who got near- 
est to him and entered the penetralia of his big 
heart, knew best how to love him, when living, and 
now, to mourn for him when dead. 

Yours truly, 

J. L. M. Curry. 

From the Hon. Hiram Warner, Judge of the 
Supreme Court of Georgia. 

The sudden death of Gen. Cobb is an irreparable 
loss to the people of his native State. No living 
man had a stronger hold upon their confidence and 
affection than he whose loss they now so sincerely 
deplore. Gifted by nature with a strong, vigorous 
intellect, cultivated and improved by laborious study, 
and an active experience with his fellow-men both 
socially and politically, he was a man of mark 
amongst the brightest intellects and most eminent 
statesmen of our country. Who can estimate the 
loss of such a man in the present disturbed condi- 
tion of the political affairs of the State ? Possess- 
ing a sound, discriminating judgment, with enlarged, 
comprehensive views, stimulated by an ardent 
patriotism for the permanent welfare of the whole 
country upon the basis of constitutional liberty, 

23* 



270 

he was, especially at the present time, a safe, dis- 
creet, conservative counselor to the people of 
Georgia, to whose interest and permanent welfare 
he was ever intensely devoted. Who shall supply 
his place? 

The question is much more easily asked than 
answered. 

As a statesman he had acquired a national rep- 
utation of which the most unscrupulous and vin- 
dictive political partisan cannot deprive him. His 
past political record will vindicate his sterling 
worth and eminent ability, whenever the sober 
judgment of the American people shall perform 
its appropriate functions. As a lawyer he occupied 
the front rank at the Bar of his native State. 
With a fine person, a clear, discriminating mind, 
of quick perception, united with a strong, vigor- 
ous, comprehensive power of thought, he had the 
capacity to analyze the most complicated legal 
question and present It to the Court In its simple 
elements. Those who have witnessed his argu- 
ments before the Supreme Court of the State 
cannot fail to have discovered with what wonderful 
facility he dissected and presented to the Court 
the main controlling points in the record of a 



271 

cause, so that the simplest mind could readily 
understand and comprehend them. It requires 
the highest order of a well-disciplined intellect to 
accomplish this result, for which Gen. Cobb was 
so eminently distinguished. His great argument 
before the Supreme Court of Milledgeville upon 
the unconstitutionality of the Stay Law will long be 
remembered by those who heard it. The counsel 
who argued the case in favor of the constitutionality 
of the law had elaborately discussed the distinction 
between the right of a party under his contract, 
and the remedy to enforce that right, endeavor- 
ing to maintain that the Legislature had entire 
power and control over the remedy to enforce the 
obligation.of contracts. Their reasoning was meta- 
physical, ingenious and plausible, well calculated 
to obscure and render nugatory the great con- 
stitutional principle involved in the issue. When 
Gen. Cobb rose to reply, who that was present 
can ever forget his manly form as he then stood 
before the Court, his countenance beaming with 
Intelligence, seemingly deeply impressed with the 
importance of the question, as well as the funda- 
mental principles of the law which then devolved 
upon him to vindicate and maintain ? After a brief 



272 

Statement of the facts of the case, he soon came 
down to his work, and right well did he perform it. 
The subtle, plausible arguments of his adversaries 
were fairly examined — their fallacy exposed with a 
mental power and legal logic rarely equaled and 
never surpassed. 

"What," said he, "upon principle, is a legal right 
worth without a legal remedy to enforce that legal 
right? What is a right under a contract worth, 
when one of the parties to it may be deprived of 
the remedy to enforce it which the law gave him at 
the time the contract was made ?" He then pro- 
ceeded to show that the Constitution prohibited 
the Legislature from passing any law impairing 
the obligation of contracts, and showed most con- 
clusively, from the decisions of the Supreme Court 
of the United States, that the law in question did 
impair the obligation of contracts, and eloquently 
demanded that the integrity of the Federal Con- 
stitution should be maintained as expounded by 
the Supreme Court of the United States. This 
matchless argument, to be fully appreciated, must 
have been heard ; its tntfhficlness, its mental power, 
its unanswerable logic, the manly vigor with which 
it was delivered, cannot be exhibited on paper; 



273 

all that we can do Is to simply remark that it was 
one of the best forensic efforts of the gigantic 
intellect of Howell Cobb when in the full vigor 
and strength of his professional manhood. 

Again we repeat in these times of demoraliza- 
tion and political degeneracy, Who can supply his 
place ? What shall we say of his social qualities 
in our past Intercourse with him as a companion 
and friend ? The very soul of honor and generous 
magnanimity, his equal In kindness of heart, gener- 
ous hospitality, and all that is calculated to endear 
man to his fellow-man, is rarely to be found in any 
country. It Is painful to contemplate the fact that 
we shall never again be permitted to behold his 
cheerful countenance in this world, or to meet him 
in those social gatherings to which his presence 
always contributed so much to instruct, entertain 
and enliven. But he has been stricken down in 
the pride and vigor of his manhood by Him who 
does all things for the best, and we must submit 
to the stern decree of an all-wise Providence ; yet 
we can cherish In our hearts a fond and kind re- 
membrance of our departed friend, and endeavor 
to Imitate his manly virtues ; for, take him all in all, 
we shall seldom look upon his like again. 



274 



Gen. Cobb as a Statesman and Lawyer. 

MiLLEDGEVILLE, July 21, 1869. 

Mr. Boykin : Ordinary men should pass to the 
tomb unattended but by the regrets and remem- 
brances of the narrow circle in which they had 
moved and in which only their existence had been 
felt ; yet it so happens that, instead of quietly in- 
urning mediocrities, indiscreet friendship, too often 
aided by the press, seeks to prolong reputations 
ephemeral in their nature beyond the limits which 
Truth and Justice allot, and in thus attempting to 
embalm them has exhausted the beautiful amber 
of language which should have been reserved for 
the good and great who stamp their image on the 
age and constitute its renown. 

I have on this occasion, from the cause assigned, 
most sensibly felt my extreme poverty of felicitous 
diction — such as should have been employed in the 
delineation of a man like the late Gen. Howell 
Cobb; and to that consciousness I beg you to 
ascribe my long delay in complying with your re- 
quest of furnishing for publication in the memorial 
you are getting up, my estimate of him as a 
statesman and lawyer. 



275 

I proceed to give it without any effort at rhetori- 
cal embelHshment. 

For the last ten years of his public life I re- 
garded him as belonging to the highest class of 
statesmen — those who shape the measures and 
guide the fortunes of nations — those who act on 
public sentiment and who are in turn reacted on 
by the forces which they have put in motion or 
accelerated ; of that class who are too wise to 
attempt to control events or to force the passions 
and prejudices and interests of a people to con- 
form to what are called political principles ; of that 
class who make their political opinions subser- 
vient to the march of the age, and, as new facts 
arise or a new exigency presents itself, modify 
those opinions so as to meet an altered con- 
dition. 

This habit of mind necessarily generates a large 
and generous toleration of differences of opinion 
and action alike with friends and adversaries. 

Such toleration is the infallible mark of a noble 
and great mind and of the highest statesmanship. 
A better specimen of this class than Gen. Cobb I 
have not known. 

I have rarely, in a pretty long life in which I 



276 

have casually been brought Into intercourse with 
some of the most distinguished statesmen of the 
country, met with any one who, upon approach, 
continued to impress me so favorably as did Gen. 
Cobb. 

Whilst it is generally true of celebrated men, as 
of landscapes, that " distance lends enchantment to 
the view," and that the admiration felt proves an 
illusion when the object is near, yet it was not so 
with this remarkable man, whose simplicity and 
frankness of character, joyous disposition, delight- 
ful manners, all informed and regulated by common 
sense, inspired one with love, and at the same time 
increased our admiration as we surveyed with 
greater accuracy the proportions of his physical 
and mental organization. They appeared to be in 
perfect equilibrium. Massive in frame, the mind 
was solid and strong-. It owed nothlno- of its 
manifestations to ornament. 

The " tout ensemble " is best typified by one of 
those Grecian temples of the Doric order erected 
to Jupiter, designed to be eternal, and which, after 
the lapse of more than twenty centuries, though 
defaced by the barbarian and by the hand of time, 
in its remains continues to exhibit its wonderful 



277 

beauty, the sense of which Increases the more it is 
contemplated. 

In a letter of this kind, good taste forbids that I 
should speak of the measures originated and sup- 
ported by him whilst in Congress, as they belong 
to biography and to history. The same propriety 
forbids comment whilst he was at the head of the 
Treasury. 

It is enough for fame that in the most advanced 
period of the growth and prosperity of the United 
States, when the States had spread from the At- 
lantic to the Pacific, and their population had in- 
creased from five to twenty-five millions, he was 
deemed worthy by the American people to be the 
successor of Alexander Hamilton, Dallas, Gallatin 
and our own illustrious William H. Crawford. 

At the close of the war he returned to the prac- 
tice of law. Withdrawn for so many years from 
the contests of the Bar, it was reasonable to expect 
that he could bring but little legal learning to the 
discharge of the duties which might be required of 
him as an advocate. Yet in this he surprised the 
whole profession. If, indeed, science is but organ- 
ized knowledge, he soon made it apparent that he 
was thoroughly acquainted with the general princl- 

24 



278 

pies on which the vast structure of municipal law 
has been erected ; and, with facility he applied them, 
in the resolution of the questions he was called 
upon to discuss. 

It was no doubt true that his familiarity with 
"cases" and "precedents" was very limited, com- 
pared with that of some of his contemporaries ; 
but the very absence of their citation, and the want 
of reliance on the thoughts and reasoning of other 
men, gave freshness and vigor to his own mind, and 
constituted the charm of his masterly arguments. 

His commanding power consisted in his reliance 
on his own faculties of analogy and illustration. 
Confining himself strictly to the facts of the record, 
and on no occasion arguing upon anything without 
it, he never wasted his strength or exhausted the 
patience of the Court in the discussion of trivial 
matters which could not constitute an element of 
the decision to be made. Nor did he repeat, but 
he unfolded his positions with an admirable method 
and with an accumulating force, in precise and per- 
spicuous language, and with a tact that satisfied 
every one that he possessed the highest skill. 

So complete were his arguments on all occasions 
that it was impossible for the dullest judge who 



279 

ever wore a wig or gown not thoroughly to com- 
prehend him. 

It is by such advocacy as Gen. Cobb employed 
that a Bench can be much assisted in the analysis 
of the cases it is called on to determine. 

Of the many causes argued before the Supreme 
Court in which he participated, I apprehend no 
one will be longer remembered by the Bench and 
Bar in attendance than the discussion in June, 
1866, upon the unco7istitutionality of Stay Laws in 
general. 

Arrayed in opposition to him were some of the 
most distinguished lawyers of Georgia, viz. : Ex- 
Governor, now Chief Justice Brown, Judge Linton 
Stephens, Barnard Hill, Esq., Samuel Hall, Esq., 
and in the closing debate the Honorable Alexander 
H. Stephens, assisted, in the protracted discussion 
which ensued, by Judge Lyon. Gen. Cobb main- 
tained himself against this imposing force with 
signal ability and address. It has never been my 
lot to witness so much mind in ardent conflict in 
the discussion of a great constitutional question. 

It may be justly said, without disparagement to 
his distinguished opponents, that he came out of 
this great intellectual tournament unscarred by 



n 



280 

the blows of his antagonists and with augmented 
reputation. 

In fine, at the Bar of the Supreme Court of 
Georgia, which includes very many of the best 
intellects of the State, he stood prominently for- 
ward in its front rank ; and whilst it would be in- 
vidious to assign to him the pre-eminence which 
ardent friendship claims for him, now that he has 
passed from the stage of action, of having been 
pi'imiis inter pares, I will say, what the public voice 
will respond to, that as a great advocate he had no 
superior. 

His sudden death, in the very prime of his 
faculties, and at a moment when his native State 
most needed his wise and practical counsel to guide 
her in finding the best path to returning quiet and 
prosperity, was an irreparable loss. 

Death has transferred him as " a bright particular 
star "to that constellation which adorns our political 
firmament. His name is now grouped in it with 
Jackson, Baldwin, Early, Crawford, Trou, For- 
syth and Berrien, whose united fame has made, 
and will for ever perpetuate, the glory of Georgia. 
Very respectfully, 

IvERSON Louis Harris. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



011 899 381 



